Crystal Palace manager Sam Allardyce has admitted that he would like to keep Mamadou Sakho on a permanent deal, but will wait until safety is confirmed before opening talks with Liverpool.

The France international has played a vital role in the Eagles' upturn in fortunes since joining on loan in January, keeping four clean sheets in his seven appearances thus far.

Ahead of this weekend's trip to take on Liverpool at Anfield, which Sakho will sit out due to his loan agreement, Allardyce insists that thrashing out a potential deal can wait until the end of the season.

"Our first priority is staying up," he told reporters. "Would we look at Mamadou Sakho? Yes. Would we talk about it now? No. When we are safe we can talk about it then and maybe some other players."

Sakho made 22 appearances for Liverpool in the Premier League last season but did not feature once this term prior to being shipped out midway through the campaign.