Crystal Palace boss Sam Allardyce described a deal to sign Arsenal’s Carl Jenkinson as “hanging in the balance” – and played down reports linking him with a move for Patrice Evra.
Allardyce confirmed there was an agreement in place with Arsenal for Jenkinson, but that personal terms had still not been agreed.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of his side’s FA Cup replay with Bolton, Allardyce said: “I think that’s [still in] negotiation between the chairman and the player’s agent.
“While we appear to have an agreement with Arsenal, the agreement with the player hasn’t reached a conclusion yet, so that’s hanging in the balance.”
On the widely-reported link with 35-year-old former Manchester United full-back Evra, Allardyce hinted that it had not gone beyond the stage of an initial enquiry, and that his interest had been leaked to smoke out other clubs.
When asked about any move for the Juventus defender, Allardyce said: “There’ll be many contacts made by the chairman and myself through agents on whether these players are available, whether they want to come.
“Then, of course, it’s very good, if that player wants to leave, for that to get released to all the papers in case a better club pops up and they’ve got more options to choose from.”
Allardyce did reveal that, having signed Jeffrey Schlupp from Leicester for £9m, that he would not be going after any more domestic-based players in this window due to poor value for money.
“We are still searching for other players, [but] I think we’ve exhausted this country,” he said.
“We’re more looking in the European market, because of the vast cost of the players in this country.”
