Atletico Madrid striker Ivan Saponjic has been left out of the club’s 23-man squad amid reports linking Celtic and Crystal Palace with the seldom-seen forward, the La Liga giants have confirmed.
The former Benfica youngster played just four minutes of league football during his first season at the Wanda Metropolitano.
And Saponjic must already be wondering whether he will be given the chance to better that tally this time around.
After all, the 23-year-old had an out-of-sorts Diego Costa and the always-erratic Alvaro Morata for competition in 2019/20.
These days, Atletico have one of the greatest centre-forwards of the 21st century leading the line. Luis Suarez sent a ruthless message to his Camp Nou critics with a stunning debut performance in Sunday’s 6-1 thrashing of Granada.
AS reported two weeks ago that Saponjic was determined to stay and fight for his place under Simeone, despite interest from Celtic and Crystal Palace.
But, after being dropped from the squad ahead of tonight’s La Liga clash with newly-promoted Huesca, Saponjic could be forgiven for changing his mind with the transfer window slamming shut on Monday.
With Odsonne Edouard set to stay, and Albian Ajeti hitting the ground running at Celtic, the Serbian striker would hardly be guaranteed a starting place with the Scottish Premiership champions.
But he would surely play a lot more than just four short minutes at Celtic.
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