Crystal Palace manager Pierre Sage says he hopes to sign a “leader” in defence before the transfer window closes at the end of the month, while he expects Adam Wharton to stay despite an enquiry from Manchester City.Palace sold centre-back Maxence Lacroix to Chelsea for £52million this summer, leaving them without one of their most vocal and important players over the past two seasons, while Marc Guehi joined Manchester City in January.The former Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu was signed on a free transfer but Sage says he wants at least another player in at centre-back.Palace have held discussions with Chelsea over signing Axel Disasi but although Sage acknowledged the “noise” around it, he did not comment on the possibility of the 28-year-old joining.“Yes, we need a player in this department,” Sage said in his press conference before Palace’s opening weekend trip to Everton on Saturday.“We need a player with a lot of games, if possible in Premier League because we need players but we need a leader. That’s why we need to wait a little bit to find a good one.“He’s (Disasi) a player from Chelsea, it’s difficult for me to speak about a player of another club, but I hear the same noise as you.