Crystal Palace enquire about £10m Lille midfielder Ibrahim Amadou as Sam Allardyce looks to fill holding role

Crystal Palace are continuing their search for a defensive midfielder after contacting Lille over a £10million move for Ibrahim Amadou. 

Palace had a deal in place for Olympiakos midfielder Luka Milivojevic but that stalled on Thursday.

Sam Allardyce is desperate to strengthen his midfield, which has been short ever since Mile Jedinak was sold to Aston Villa.

Crystal Palace have turned Lille's Ibrahim Amadou in a bid to fill their defensive midfield hole

Palace had a deal in place for Olympiakos midfielder Luka Milivojevic but that has stalled

Allardyce turned his attention to Milivojevic after becoming frustrated in his pursuit of Rubin Kazan's Yann M'Vila, who spent last season playing for the Palace boss when on loan to Sunderland from his Russian club side.

The Eagles boss admitted earlier this month that he was frustrated by the fees being demanded by selling clubs and that he was struggling to get new faces in.

Amadou was one of several European-based players who withdrew from African Cup of Nations duty with Cameroon prior to the tournament.

Sam Allardyce is desperate to strengthen his midfield, short ever since Mile Jedinak was sold

The Lille man has been a target for Sevilla and their renowned sporting director, Monchi. Amadou, 23, is under contract until 2019 and is one of a list of potential replacements for Steven N'Zonzi should the former Blackburn man leave next summer.

Amadou's agent, Sylvain Chavanon, said earlier in the month: 'There are interested clubs in La Liga but also in Germany and England' 

Lille is not looking to sell and hoped to extend the Cameroonian's contract in the coming weeks. Last summer, Schalke had offered €10million (£8.4m) but saw their bid rejected by the French club.