Over the course of the January transfer period, it was clear that Marco Silva wanted a new midfielder in his squad, and he eventually got one in Sasa Lukic.
The Serbian midfielder was contracted to Torino in Italy, where he had played for six and a half years after arriving from Partizan Belgrade for €1.7m.
He did spend a year on loan at Levante in Spain, but Fulham were impressed with what he had done recently, and decided to spend €9.1m on him.
He has since made just the one appearance under Marco Silva, in a one minute cameo against Nottingham Forest, although we can all expect that to increase as the season goes on.
Either way, the decision to sell him raised a few eyebrows, including those of former Torino midfielder Patrizio Sala, who spoke to Toro.it about the transfer when asked about it.
He said: “We need to see if it was the player who wanted to leave or if it was the club that wanted to sell him. Clearly losing such an important player is a pity. Then there are players, in quotes, who are more important than others for their qualities, for their dynamic and aggressive appearance, who give continuous performance compared to others.
“This is another important factor. I wouldn’t have let him go, but if there are two parties who no longer get along, it’s not a problem to lose him.”
Prior to his move to Fulham, the midfielder had also been heavily linked to Leeds, although they never took the step of putting a bid forward, which the Craven Cottage side eventually did, and will hopefully end up reaping the benefits.
