Crystal Palace have been linked with signing Torino midfielder Sasa Lukic recently and the Serbian could prove to be Patrick Vieira’s own version of Federico Valverde at Selhurst Park.
Recent reports have claimed that Palace have made contact with the Serie A side over the potential signing of Lukic, with the 26-year-old seemingly keen to move after a fallout with his current club.
Last season saw Lukic enjoy the best campaign of his Torino career, as he notched five goals and four assists in 35 appearances, averaging a strong 6.85 rating from WhoScored for his performances.
Vieira might feel he still needs midfield reinforcements to fill the hole left by Conor Gallagher after he returned to Chelsea, and the French manager could unearth a gem in Lukic, who is reportedly available for €20m (£16.8m).
According to FbRef, the second-most similar player to the Serbian in terms of play style is Real Madrid mainstay, Federico Valverde.
The Uruguayan has been a regular for Los Blancos in recent seasons, making 150 appearances, in which he has contributed six goals and eight assists, helping them to a league and Champions League double last season.
When he was briefly linked with Liverpool earlier this year, reports suggested that it would cost the Reds £67m to prise him away from Madrid, and the Spanish side will be glad they kept him, as he created Vinicius Junior’s winning goal in the Champions League final against Jurgen Klopp’s side later that year.
Last season saw Lukic and Valverde register very similar statistics in a host of metrics, with the duo excelling technically. With regards to non-penalty expected goals and assists per 90 minutes they were nearly level (0.2 vs 0.15), while they were well matched in pass completion rate (87.5 vs 87.6) and passes leading to a shot (both 52).
Both players excel at carrying the ball, with Lukic scoring in the 92nd and Valverde in the 98th percentile in terms of progressive carries by midfielders.
Therefore, it’s evident they are both very similar types of players, and considering that Valverde is a regular for the side recognised as the best in Europe, Vieira and Palace would be foolish to turn Lukic down, especially if he could also shape himself into a £67m valued player in the near future.
Considering Conor Gallagher was rated at just £13.5m before his move to Palace and is now valued at £50m by his club, it shows just how far you can come when given regular minutes in the Premier League, specifically at Palace. Anything is seemingly possible in English football from a financial point of view.
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