Crystal Palace are looking to sign wantaway Torino captain Sasa Lukic with the Premier League outfit still in the market for a new central midfielder, as reported by Tuttosport.
Talk about showing Patrick Vieira what he’s missing.
Lewis O’Brien won’t be hogging too many headlines on Monday morning – it’s Taiwo Awoniyi’s Cheshire cat grin splashed all over the back pages instead – but it was the former Huddersfield Town dynamo who set the tone for Nottingham Forest’s hard-fought 1-0 win over West Ham United; Snapping into tackles, turning defence into attack and running the show from his box-to-box role.
Crystal Palace saw O’Brien slip through their fingers earlier in the summer. Ditto West Ham’s Flynn Downes, Fulham’s Andreas Pereira and Southampton’s snake-hipped Joe Aribo.
At least, with a fortnight left in the window, Crystal Palace still have time on their side. And one suspects Sasa Lukic would be happy to listen to what the Eagles have to offer, the 26-year-old in the midst of an uneasily row with the Torino bosses almost immediately after inheriting the captain’s armband from the departed Andrea Belotti.
Crystal Palace want Torino’s Serie A skipper Sasa Lukic
Per Tuttomercatoweb, Lukic asked to be left out of Torino’s Serie A opener against newly-promoted Monza. The 30-cap Serbia international wants to leave, and wants to leave now. Tuttosport say that Lukic feels Urbano Cairo, the Granata president, has broken promises regarding his future, with less than two years left on the midfielder’s contract.
“A serious, sensational, very ugly situation,” says coach Ivan Juric. “Even if, in this case, I would be willing to forgive Sasa.”
“For us it is important who will be on the pitch,” adds director Davide Vagnati, who has made headlines for all the wrong reasons himself this summer.
“In the last few days, we have seen a different guy than in the last few years. In the last few days, he has been doing things that don’t represent what Sasa has always been.
“Let’s hope he gets back to doing what he always did. Those who want to stay must have great enthusiasm. These are things that can also happen, but then they must be resolved immediately.”
According to Gianluca di Marzio, Crystal Palace first made an approach for Lukic back in 2021.
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