Pardew wants big bucks for Bolasie

23 April 2015 22:17

Crystal Palace would sell coveted winger Yannick Bolasie for "£40million to £60million", according to manager Alan Pardew.

Pardew claims all his players are "undervalued" as the Selhurst Park club bid to assert their Barclays Premier League clout.

The former Newcastle boss is ready to fend off big-money bids for his in-demand stars like Bolasie and defender Scott Dann - but conceded "every player has a price".

Democratic Republic of Congo star Bolasie joined Palace for around £400,000 from Bristol City in 2012 but has risen steadily in standing ever since.

Last week Pardew slapped a £20million price tag on the 25-year-old's head with Liverpool circling - now he has casually bandied about figures three times as high.

"I'll sell Yannick, if someone wants to give me £40million to £60million, somewhere in there, that would be good," Pardew said.

"I'll take it and we'll build the team around that money.

"Every player has a price, of course.

"All these players here are undervalued, in my opinion.

"This is a top-10 team at the moment, top 12, yet if you put the valuation of our squad against any of the other teams above us, and some below, it's not right.

"So I'm going to address that. Anyone who rings me up will get a proper price.

"It's only our second year in the Premier League so it's understandable (if players are undervalued).

"You need to put your credentials there every week.

"I think these players are starting to do that now; Bolasie, (Jason) Puncheon, (Joel) Ward, (Damien) Delaney.

"Therefore when I hear figures being talked about players, they are not even close to where I value these players.

"It's very easy to address: a manager has to ring me up and I will tell him the price, and that will be addressed."

Lyon-born Bolasie bagged a hat-trick in Palace's 4-1 Premier League win at Sunderland on April 11, his fine form since prompting a raft of transfer speculation.

Liverpool's initial plans to offer £10million this summer have been thwarted, but boss Brendan Rodgers is weighing up offering striker Rickie Lambert as well as increasing his transfer bid.

While Pardew will be at pains to hold onto all his front-line talents at Palace over the summer, the ex-Eagles midfielder conceded the club may not be able to resist an outrageous bid.

Pardew said Palace could end up wise to repeat the calculated "gamble" he helped take at Newcastle when the St James' Park club sold Andy Carroll to Liverpool for £35million in 2011.

The Selhurst Park manager believes selling one star for big money can help rejuvenate an entire squad.

"I can think of a situation I had at Newcastle, the last day of the window, a team that wasn't great, not too far away from the relegation zone and we accepted a big bid for Andy Carroll," Pardew said.

"I said to the chairman at the time that that was a gamble.

"We were by no means secure; we'd only just come up from the Championship that year.

"But we did it, we spent the money wisely and we ended up with a very, very good team.

"So it is about the right price for the right player, and then you have to build on that."

Source: PA