Pape Souare hasn’t made a Premier League appearance for Roy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace, and could return to France with Marseille in January.
Pape Souare may have featured just twice off the bench in the EFL Cup for Crystal Palace this season, but it seems that he is still being lined up for a move to one of Europe’s most ambitious sides.
According to France Football, Marseille are keen to bring the Senegalese left-back to the Stade Velodrome in January as they aim to qualify for the Champions League after a few years mired in mid-table mediocrity.
Souare would be a replacement for Patrice Evra, who was let go by the Ligue 1 giants after an altercation with a fan in a Europa League clash last month. And Marseille manager Rudi Garcia knows the 27-year-old well, having coached him at Lille.
Souare is unlikely to be first choice at the 1993 Champions League winners, however, with former Aston Villa ace Jordan Amavi firmly established as the club’s first-choice left-back. Though a fresh-start could do Souare good after falling down the pecking order at Palace.
The defender didn’t feature at at all Crystal Palace under either Sam Allardyce or Frank De Boer, after breaking his leg in a horrific car crash back in September 2016. And since then Palace signed both Jeffrey Schlupp and Patrick Van Aanholt, meaning Souare is third choice under current manager Roy Hodgson.
But Souare boasts considerable experience in Ligue 1, after spending seven years at Lille, helping the club win the Ligue 1 title in 2010/11.
So, if he can rediscover the form he showed before that serious injury, Marseille will be making a very shrewd signing.
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