Reds target Ligue 1 sensation
Reports from Football Insider reveal that the Merseyside giants are keen on recruiting the young defender after his standout displays in the French top flight. Crystal Palace previously pushed to bring the Burkina Faso senior and France youth international to Selhurst Park during the summer transfer window. Although Eagles officials hoped he would follow former Lens boss Pierre Sage to south London, the centre-back rejected the move and signed fresh terms in August before Sage was sacked this week.
Delayed departures derailed summer pursuit
Missing out on the defender formed part of a turbulent defensive overhaul at Palace over the past year, with Marc Guehi and Maxence Lacroix both departing for a combined £72 million.
Speaking on the publication's Transfer Insider podcast about how the Eagles missed their chance, journalist Callum O'Connell explained: "I think that'll [Liverpool's interest] be sort of frustrating news for anybody following Crystal Palace.
"Pierre Sage wanted to bring him in during the summer, wanted to bring him to Palace with him.
"Palace eventually missed out on that. They were waiting to sell Maxence Lacroix, and that didn't go through maybe as soon as they'd hoped.
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"Ganiou eventually signed that new contract at Lens. So one that they've missed out on, one that got away really."
Stopgap signings fail struggling Eagles
Despite banking significant funds from selling Guehi and Lacroix, the south London club chose not to spend a transfer fee on a permanent replacement during the summer market. Instead, the Selhurst Park hierarchy recruited former Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu on a free transfer while bringing in Axel Disasi and Honest Ahanor on loan deals.
That makeshift approach has backfired badly during the opening months of the campaign. Palace currently sit rock bottom of the Premier League table after shipping a division-high 24 goals across their first 10 matches, a dismal defensive record that ultimately cost Sage his job.
Incoming boss faces January rebuild
Thomas Frank now appears set to replace Sage in the Selhurst Park dugout, with shoring up the leaky backline representing the Dane's most urgent priority. Because the current squad lacks sufficient internal options to fix their defensive woes, club chiefs are expected to back their incoming manager in the January transfer window. With the financial cost of Premier League relegation far outweighing the price of new recruits, Palace must look elsewhere while Liverpool pursue Ganiou.
