Liverpool have rejected Crystal Palace’s third offer for Mamadou Sakho.
Several clubs are targeting Sakho ahead of Thursday’s transfer deadline but only the Eagles have formalised their interest with another bid to the Reds.
Palace chief Steve Parish sanctioned a £25 million deal with an initial £22m paid pledged up-front for the former France international defender.
But Anfield officials are holding out for a fee of £30m to offload Sakho, who has not played for the club since April 2016 due to a combination of factors.
He was suspended by UEFA pending a probe into a failed drugs test before being cleared, only to ostracise himself from Liverpool’s first-team ranks.
Jurgen Klopp sent home the 27-year-old from a pre-season tour of the United States for repeated rule-breaking before banishing him to the under-23 setup.
The Liverpool manager offloaded him to Selhurst Park on a half-season loan in January, with Palace keen to make his potential return a permanent one.
West Brom and Leicester City have also expressed an interest in Sakho, who launched a social media outburst against Liverpool last September.
Tony Pulis had been expected to meet the £30m valuation of the former Paris Saint-Germain captain.