Jose Mourinho seems to have a soft spot for Crystal Palace.
There was even a time where Crystal Palace fans felt Mourinho was a realistic replacement for Roy Hodgson – due to the Portuguese tactician’s praise for the Eagles over the years.
Now – however – the man from Setubal has beaten Crystal Palace to a transfer target…
Jose Mourinho lures Filip Kostic to Fenerbahce after unsuccessful Crystal Palace bid
Juventus and Fenerbahce have now announced a loan agreement involving Filip Kostic.
The Serbia international has joined the Turkish giants on a deal running until the end of the 2024/25 campaign, as the transfer window in Turkey remains open until Friday 13th September.
It comes after Tutto Juve claimed that Crystal Palace made a £6.8m bid to sign Kostic in a permanent move from Juventus – although the Serbian ignored the chance to reunite with Oliver Glasner at Selhurst Park.
It would have been nice to see the 31-year-old play under the Austrian again, as they enjoyed a very productive stint together at Eintracht Frankfurt.
Kostic scored seven goals and provided 16 assists in 45 appearances under Glasner, playing a key role as Eintracht Frankfurt won the UEFA Europa League in 2022.
Unfortunately, a reunion now seems very unlikely to happen, as we presume the man from Kragujevac will remain in Turkey beyond his loan spell, if all goes well.
Wing-back options are drying up
Glasner was hoping to sign a new left wing-back during the summer to provide cover for Tyrick Mitchell, although the options are quickly disappearing.
Aside from Kostic, Crystal Palace showed a desire to sign Robin Gosens, although the Germany international recently moved to Fiorentina.
Furthermore, Crystal Palace took Ryan Sessegnon on trial as a potential wing-back option, but the Londoner failed to impress and eventually made a return to Fulham.
Therefore, it could be a case of Dougie Freedman going back to the drawing board, with a new set of wing-back options proposed to Glasner in 2025.
