Crystal Palace pursued a deal for Angers SCO’s Sidiki Chérif throughout the winter market. Towards the end of December, the French media stated the Premier League side were serious about signing the striker.

On January 31st, RMC Sport reported Crystal Palace had found an agreement with the Ligue 1 side. The Eagles offered €25m plus a percentage on a future sale to sign him on a permanent transfer.

However, the French and Turkish media explained Chérif favoured Fenerbahçe over Crystal Palace. At the weekend, he joined the Yellow Canaries on loan with a conditional obligation to buy.

Africa Foot got in touch with Angers’ Abdoulaye Bamba to discuss the Chérif saga in the recently concluded window.

The 19-year-old Guinean graduated from the French club’s academy. He made his way into their first team in 2023. Bamba, on the other hand, joined Angers Dijon in 2017 and has been with them since then.

Chérif played alongside the Ivory Coast right-back at Angers for over two years. The forward had attracted interest from Oliver Glasner’s side and Eintracht Frankfurt in January.

Africa Foot asked Bamba whether Chérif’s decision to join Fenerbahçe over other clubs ‘surprised’ him. When responding to that, the...