Crystal Palace veteran Luka Milivojevic may be offered a route out of the Premier League with Red Star Belgrade opening the door to a return to Serbia.
The 32-year-old’s contract expires this summer.
And with Crystal Palace looking to transition towards a more proactive, energetic style of football – Michael Olise, Ebere Eze and Odsonne Edouard just three of the exciting young talents who have arrived at Selhurst Park in recent windows – Milivojevic is starting to feel like a man out of time in South London.
The Serbia international joined Palace from Olympiakos for around £12 million during the Sam Allardyce era. The long-serving midfielder has seen his importance diminish in recent seasons, however. He has started only five Premier League games under Roy Hodgson and Patrick Vieira in 2022/23.
Luka Milivojevic is leaving Crystal Palace
According to reports, Milivojevic’s £65,000-a-week wages put pay to a return to Olympiakos last summer. It’s likely that he’d have to take a sizeable pay cut in order to re-join Red Star Belgrade too, having spent two years in the Serbian capital between 2011 and 2013.
“All those players that were mentioned are all interesting to Red Star. Everyone!” general director Zvezdan Terzic tells Kurir when asked about the prospect of Milivojevic returning to the Rajko Mitic Stadium.
“Most of them are Zvezda’s children, former Zvezda players. Aware of the weight of the Zvezda jersey.
“We have to be aware that we can’t bring many players. But I’ll tell you; We are in negotiations with some of them.”
Crystal Palace are unlikely to stand in Milivojevic’s way.
He played only one minute during Saturday’s thrilling 4-3 London derby victory over West Ham United. Roy Hodgson has sparked an outstanding turnaround since taking over at his old employers a month or so ago, with Crystal Palace reportedly identifying Paulo Fonseca as a potential long-term replacement for the 76-year-old gaffer.
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