Crystal Palace will not match Liverpool’s £30 million valuation of Mamadou Sakho.
Sakho has spent the second half of this season on loan with Sam Allardyce’s side as they have moved increasingly closer towards their Premier League survival.
With the defender’s Anfield career all but over, a summer bidding war is set to ensue as Southampton and Napoli have emerged as early potential suitors.
But Eagles chairman Steve Parish insists that they will not meet Liverpool’s asking price for Sakho, who suffered a knee injury in last week’s defeat to Tottenham.
“We’d love to [keep him], he’s been a massive, massive part of getting us to this stage,” he told BT Sport.
“He’s a leader, he’s a fantastic character, good player, we would love to try and make that deal happen.
“But it takes two sides to make a deal and everybody has got to be reasonable.
“So if we can do something sensible we would be happy to do it.”
The 27-year-old’s prospects at Liverpool have unravelled in the previous 12 months since he was found guilty and later acquitted of a failed UEFA drugs test.
Following his reinstatement, Sakho was sent home from the club’s pre-season tour of America by Jurgen Klopp for continually breaking rules.
He further irked the Liverpool manager during his spell in the wilderness by claiming a ‘lie’ was behind his first-team exile.
Further controversy accompanied Sakho on his return to Anfield with Palace as he celebrated Christian Benteke’s equaliser in front of the home supporters.