Fulham could sign a Premier League captain this summer with Luka Milivojevic potentially set to leave Crystal Palace for Craven Cottage, as reported by The Athletic.
Marco Silva knows the veteran midfielder well, too.
Milivojevic was one of the most integral cogs in the Olympiakos side who won the Greek Super League title under Silva back in 2015/16.
“In my opinion, (Crystal Palace) have really high quality in their attacking line with one player who is the key player who I know very well,” the now-Fulham boss said back in 2019, ahead of a top-flight clash between The Eagles and his Everton side.
“Luka will play in the midfield and can support their forward line really well.”
Is Crystal Palace’s Luka Milivojevic heading to Fulham?
At the age of 31, Milivojevic is no longer the irrepressible force of old. He started just nine Premier League games during Patrick Vieira’s debut season at Selhurst Park, with some ‘supporters’ unfairly singling their long-serving skipper out for criticism during Crystal Palace’s end of season awards recently (The Athletic).
A move to Fulham would hand Milivojevic the chance to silence his doubters alongside a familiar face in Silva.
Reports from Greece earlier in May suggested that the giant midfielder, who cost Palace £12 million back in 2017, had agreed a cut-price return to Olympiakos. The Eagles reportedly want just £3 million, with 12 months remaining on his contract.
Milivojevic would have to accept a substantial wage cut if he wants to re-join his old employers, however. Fulham should be able to out-muscle Olympiakos without much difficulty, financially-speaking at least.
Silva appears to be prioritising a physically imposing, deep-lying midfielder as The Cottagers prepare for life back in the Premier League. Talks are also underway regarding Braga’s 6ft 4ins enforcer Al-Musrati.
‘Outstanding’
“He’s been absolutely excellent in every respect,” former Palace and Fulham boss Roy Hodgson told the Daily Mail a couple of years ago. “Outstanding.
“As a football coach, the biggest compliment you can pay a player is that you go out on the field and do your job every week and do it well. And then, after the game is over, you get back to training on Monday and get ready for the next one. Those players are the ones that I am looking for.
“Reliability and consistency of performance are two factors in a football player that I praise unbelievably highly.
“The reader might say; ‘Shouldn’t all players be like that? Shouldn’t they all be consistent and have the ability to recover from injury and get out on the field again?’ But they can’t all do that. Luka can.”
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