Crystal Palace defender James Tomkins has been full of praise for one former defender at Selhurst Park, who was released in 2021.
Crystal Palace, under new manager Oliver Glasner, has excelled towards the end of the season for the Eagles, including a dominant 4-0 win over Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United.
After Palace decided to sack Roy Hodgson, the arrival of Glasner seemed to change fortunes at Selhurst Park. Part of the reason why Palace have been so good recently is the solid defensive partnership of Marc Guehi and Joachim Andersen.
However, James Tomkins has been quick to praise a former Palace ace, who has done very well since leaving the club in 2021.
Tomkins on ex-Palace defender
Speaking in an interview to the South London Press, the English defender has been full of praise for Mamadou Sakho, who departed over three ago when talking about the current options for the Eagles.
“All those names mentioned there – and I’m not just saying it – they’re all very, very, very good players so it’s hard to single anyone out,” said Tomkins. “Marc, Joa (Andersen) and Chris, massive respect to them because they’ve done brilliantly since they’ve been at the club – great, talented players.
“But the times when I was at my best here was probably my partnership with Mamadou Sakho.
“Me and Mama had a great partnership going, so that’s the standout for me. I love Mumy. He was so relaxed and somehow that worked for me. I felt like I was doing a lot of the ‘dirtier’ stuff, giving it to him and then he’s the one that fed great balls into the strikers, into the midfield. We had a nice balance and were both aggressive.
“In the changing room he was a good character, Mama had some good speeches before games.”
Sakho’s time away from Palace
The current club have a superb defence but the French defender was a brilliant player for the club and formed a solid partnership alongside the former Liverpool ace.
Sakho is now at Montpellier but was one of the more consistent players for the Eagles after a tough spell at Liverpool.
The French defender is 34 years of age and may well be thinking about retiring soon but he will always be remembered for how well he did at Selhurst Park.
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