CYPRUS: Pafos FC capture another high-profile signing in Bakary Sako

Cyprus top-flight club Pafos FC has added another former Premier League player to its squad by signing ex-Crystal Palace striker Bakary Sako as a free agent.

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The 31-year-old Mali International is their second out-of-the-blue signing after securing the services of midfielder Jason Puncheon, also released by Crystal Palace.

Sako’s salary was quoted by a source close to the team as being around EUR 40,000 a month.

The Mali striker was released from Crystal Palace at the end of last season after appearing 47 times for the team since 2015, when he joined the club.

He was expected to join Turkish Super Lig club Denizlispor in July, but the deal was scrapped after the player failed a medical

He has played for the likes of Wolves, Crystal Palace and West Bromwich, while also wearing the shirt of French Ligue 2 side Châteauroux and Ligue 1’s Saint-Étienne.

Bakary Sako has played 374 official games in the French Ligue 1 and English Premier League, FA Cup, EFL CUP and Championship, scoring 73 goals and 55 assists.

Sako has 19 caps for Mali scoring 9 goals, while he also played 11 games for France’s U21 team.

The club’s foreign owners appear determined to rebuild Pafos, transforming it into one the island’s strongest teams, spending serious money as both Puncheon and Sako are known to have salaries that would blitz the budget of most clubs outside the top six.

Meanwhile, Pafos FC is said to be in talks with 23-times USA international Danny Williams. The player is expected in Cyprus for final contact talks and a medical. The two sides are said to be close to an agreement.

The last two years saw Williams, 30, at Huddersfield Town (6 Premier League games last season), while from 2013 to 2017 he was at Reading in the Championship).

Before going to England, the 30-year-old played for German sides SC Freiburg and Hoffenheim.