Pierre Sage used his first pre-match press conference as Crystal Palace manager to knock down talk that Daniel Muñoz is on his way out of Selhurst Park, just as the club's newest Israeli signing, Anan Khalaili, prepares to compete with the Colombian for the same shirt.

Palace open their Premier League season at Everton on Saturday at 17:00, and Sage was asked directly whether Muñoz's position was under threat now that the club has brought in both Khalaili and the Spanish full-back Oscar Mingueza this summer.

"We currently have four defensive players who can play there, three of them with a dominant right foot and only one left-footed," Sage said, according to ONE. "Regarding Muñoz, I've heard a lot of reports like you mentioned, but he is happy to be with us and we are happy he is here."

The remark was as much a message to the dressing room as to reporters. Muñoz has been strongly linked with a move all summer after an outstanding World Cup with Colombia, with reports in the English press this month naming Everton, Tottenham and even Barcelona and Chelsea among his suitors, and Palace said to have set an asking price in the region of £25 million.

For now, Sage's line is that the 28-year-old stays and simply has more competition than before. Khalaili, who signed from Royale Union Saint-Gilloise this month in a deal reported at roughly £21 million, the most expensive transfer for an Israeli player in history, arrives with his path to Palace only cleared after a proposed move to Inter Milan collapsed at the medical stage.

Mingueza, a free-transfer arrival from Celta Vigo and Sage's first signing since taking over from Oliver Glasner, adds a further option who can operate on the right side of defence, deepening the queue Khalaili will have to navigate for a starting berth.

Sage's comments suggest Khalaili is likely to begin life in south London fighting for minutes rather than walking straight into the XI, with Muñoz still very much first choice in the manager's eyes heading into Saturday's trip to Merseyside.

Nothing in Sage's answer closed the door on a Muñoz departure before the transfer window shuts, but for the moment the message from the Palace dugout is one of stability at right wing-back, even with an Israeli record signing waiting in the wings.