Crystal Palace forward Ismaïla Sarr has barely featured for the side this season, initially due to a failed move away from the club in the summer and then prevented by an injury that he had sustained in training just before the first game of the season. 

Now, almost six weeks on from his agent deleting all of the pictures from his Instagram account, Sarr is reportedly close to agreeing a bumper new contract with the South London club. 

A report this morning from Alan Nixon has disclosed that a deal worth a reported £120,000 per week has been offered to Sarr, in an aim to reward him for his contribution to Palace’s recent success but also see him matched to the players that had been signed in recent windows since that success. 

The general reaction to this news is extremely mixed from the Palace fanbase, and after Sarr’s reported behaviour over the summer and his general conduct in his hopes for a move away, it’s unsurprising that some fans are unhappy. 

But is Sarr deserving of a new deal, does he even want to be at the club and how long is it going to be until we see him back to his best in a Palace shirt? 

There are some simple facts that cannot be overlooked when addressing Ismaïla Sarr and his time at Palace. Going into just his third season with the club, Sarr has been central to all of Palace’s success, scoring a brace in the FA Cup semi final, an equaliser in the Community Shield and a hatful of goals on Palace’s route to becoming Conference League winners. 

The trajectory of his form at Palace has been somewhat surprising, considering his career was stalling at Marseille after he was forced out of the first team squad after a €13m move from Watford. Palace had been tracking Sarr during his time at the Hornets, and Dougie Freedman was a huge fan of Sarr’s. 

Sarr came into the side and played 47 times in his first season, scoring twelve goals and assisting seven in all competitions, culminating with lifting the FA Cup in May of the following year. 

Last season, Sarr’s second with the club, the Senegalese international was truly phenomenal. He finished the season as the Conference League’s golden boot winner, scoring 21 goals in all competitions and registering one assist. 

He then went to the World Cup and scored four goals and registered one assist in just four games at the tournament. 

In terms of his on-pitch contribution, Sarr undoubtedly is deserving of a new deal, but did his antics over the summer detract from that contribution? 

The reality of modern football is that very few players hold genuine loyalty to the clubs they play for. The reports that Sarr was refusing to train were never confirmed, but there was a clear desire from the player to push for a move to Liverpool, despite the Reds never actually showing a clear interest in him. 

Whilst Sarr did want to leave, the line from Pierre Sage and the club is that he hadn’t featured before Leeds away due to a groin injury, and in that cameo from the bench, he did look to be nursing an injury. 

Sarr’s ultimate desire was to leave Palace, and so offering him a new contract which guarantees that his best years are spent in South London is potentially not the result he had been hoping for. 

Even had this new contract not been offered, there was a fair point to make surrounding Sarr’s approach to this season. If he genuinely wasn’t injured, there would be little sense in Sarr simply refusing to play.

It may be that his desire is still to leave, but even so that will only be achieved through strong performances. There are suggestions that the new deal could include a release clause, and that would make sense for Sarr considering his position in the summer, but that information is yet to be confirmed. 

Regardless, his performances over the last two seasons are deserving of a new deal, and if that means Palace can keep a hold of him for the upcoming seasons, which are likely to be his prime years, then it will be a win for the club.