Looking all but set to sign on a free transfer for AC Milan, Martin Caceres, formerly a Juventus player, has decided to reject the offer from Adriano Galliani, meaning he’s still available to the highest bidder.
Gazetta dello Sport on Monday look at the reasons behind the player’s choice, and ultimately, it looks like the motivation was financial.
The Italian newspaper mention the fact that Crystal Palace are now the most likely team to pick up the Uruguayan defender, and if their 4-0 loss to Sunderland at the weekend is anything to go by, a new defender is exactly what they need.
Sam Allardyce, brought in to replace the struggling Alan Pardew, has never been relegated as a manager, but with the Eagles currently 19th and tied with bottom Sunderland on points, that stat could realistically be changed.
Gazzetta explain AC Milan were only able to offer Caceres €250k over the next five months + some appearance bonuses, which would take his earnings to somewhere around €400k.
Deemed ‘insufficient’ by the defender, who had even passed his medical, Palace, if they really want him, will have to offer him more, and you would expect the prospect of playing in the Premier League might be something Caceres could find hard to refuse.
We’ll have to wait and see over the next couple of days, but considering Martin Caceres hasn’t played football since the 3rd of February 2016, Sam Allardyce and Crystal Palace might want to take their time in assessing whether the player is ready.
Then again, if he’s ready for AC Milan, he should be ready for Selhurst Park.
