Crystal Palace captain Luka Milivojevic could be set to leave the club, reports suggest.
The Eagles captain has been linked with a move to Lazio according to Corriere dello Sport (via Sport Witness) due to the player going into the last year of his contract (Transfermarkt).
The Serbian international has finished as the top scorer at Crystal Palace over the past two seasons, scoring 22 goals in total. He has established himself as one of the most reliable penalty takers in the league, scoring 17 of those 22 goals from the spot and only missing two (Transfermarkt).
The report suggests that Milivojevic is rated by Palace at around €20m (roughly around £18.29m), however, there’s a ‘hope’ that the deal could be concluded for much less than that – possibly even half.
Allegedly, Milivojevic ‘doesn’t seem intent on renewing’ his Palace contract, leaving the door open to speculation.
It’s said that Palace might sell if an ‘appealing offer’ comes to the table.
Luka Milivojevic is a very important player for Palace and they should be doing everything they can to keep hold of their star defensive midfielder. Indeed, not only is he the captain of the squad but he is also their top scorer.
He seems to be one of the first names on the teamsheet for Roy Hodgson, after playing every game of the last campaign – recording over 200 more minutes than anyone else (WhoScored) – and only missed two games in the previous season.
Milivojevic plays as a deep-lying defensive midfielder, however, he seems to be involved all over the pitch. He averages more shots than any other midfielder – not including Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend – with 1.5 per game. Elsewhere, he averaged more tackles than any current Palace player with 2.4 (now Aaron Wan-Bissaka has left), more interceptions with 1.9, averages the joint highest amount of key passes with 1.6 (same as Townsend and Zaha), the highest amount of crosses with 1.4 and the highest amount of average passes with 52.3 (all stats attributed to WhoScored).
Luka Milivojevic needs to be kept on at Palace and they should be willing to spend a fair buck on his wages if that’s what it takes to secure his future, considering his impact.
If they do not, it could end up costing the club a lot more with the threat of a relegation battle, given that their current strike force only scored 2 league goals between them last season.
How important is it that Milivojevic stays? Join the discussion by commenting below…
