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According to Globo Esporte, Sao Paulo are unimpressed with perceived attempts from Crystal Palace to get a cut-price fee for loanee goalkeeper Lucas Perri, whom they had an option to buy for €4.5m (£4m).
The Brazilian was brought in on a temporary basis in January with both Wayne Hennessey and Vicente Guaita sidelined with injury but failed to make a first team appearance, despite impressing for the Under-23’s and, more recently, with the youth international setup. Will Palace regret their haggling attempts?
What’s the word?
Well, Globo Esporte reports that the 21-year-old’s agents didn’t like the Eagles’ attitude to their client and have therefore ruled out a move to the Premier League this summer – a hammer blow to the Selhurst Park outfit if this was indeed a cheeky negotiation strategy and not just a lack of interest.
Globo Esporte claims that Sao Paulo were in fact confident that the young custodian would sign for Palace on a permanent basis, but are against the idea after they saw the Eagles’ delays as trading tactics.
As a result, another loan most likely awaits for the shot-stopper, who was part of Brazil’s winning Under-22 team at the Toulon Tournament this month.
With the aforementioned Hennessey and Guaita in their thirties and Julian Speroni having retired, will Palace live to regret trying to shave some off Perri’s price?
Passing on Perri
If, as Sao Paulo suspect, Palace’s decision not to sign the goalie permanently before the expiration of their option-to-buy deadline was part of a plan to get him for cheaper later in the summer, then it could backfire, with Galatasaray and Sporting Lisbon keen on bringing the starlet to Turkey and Portugal, respectively.
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The other reason, of course, is that Roy Hodgson and co didn’t see enough from Perri to warrant splashing a chunk, albeit a very small chunk, of their transfer budget this summer on acquiring his services on a permanent basis. Given some of the bizarre signings made since the former England boss entered the dugout – Alexander Sorloth, Jaroslaw Jach and Erdal Rakip included – it is entirely possible that this was another mistake from the scouting department.
Either way, serious questions need to be asked of Dougie Freedman and Hodgson, who have very little to celebrate in terms of transfer success stories.