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Sam Allardyce says Crystal Palace's move for Arsenal defender Carl Jenkinson is "hanging in the balance" at the negotiation stage. Jenkinson, 24, worked under Allardyce during a loan spell at West Ham United and looked likely to follow Jeffrey Schlupp to Selhurst Park after the Leicester City player signed a four-and-a-half year contract with the club on Friday. "I think that's [down to] negotiations between the chairman and the player's agent," he said at a news conference ahead of Palace's FA Cup third-round replay with Bolton Wanderers. "While we appear to have an agreement with Arsenal, that agreement with the player hasn't reached a conclusion, so that's hanging in the balance, as we say. "We're still searching for players. We've exhausted this country, we're more looking at the European element now, because of the vast cost of the players in this country. They're a really big price. "Someone said to me 'You spent a lot of money on Schlupp.' It's not really: it's very little compared to what everybody else is spending and valuing their players at. "He's actually quite cheap compared to what we've been quoted for other players. It's expensive on where we've been before but not expensive in the market. "He brings a lot of energy, experience for such a young man. He experienced a Premier League-winning run last year. Can play in three positions -- wide left, wing-back or left-back - that could be important in a small squad. "He was desperate to come, desperate to leave Leicester even though they're champions." The Palace manager was then asked about progress regarding a reported move for Juventus defender Patrice Evra, and he said: "From my point of view, there would be many contacts made by the chairman, myself, to agents on whether these players are available, whether they want to come or whether they don't. "And then of course it's very good if that player wants to leave, for that to get released to all the papers, to all the radio stations, in case a better club pops up and they've got more options to choose from."
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