Erdal Rakip to Crystal Palace has been a strange transfer for several reasons.
Benfica signed the player last week after his contract with Malmo had come to an end, Rakip left as a champion but hasn’t played since the Swedish season ended in November.
He’ll need some extra training so Crystal Palace will likely have to work to get the 21 year old ready to play in the Premier League. Should that go well and Rakip start to impress then he’ll be off to Benfica in the summer because Crystal Palace don’t have a buying option.
Monday morning saw multiple claims from Portugal that Benfica were considering trying to cancel the loan, despite Rakip having a medical and signing his paperwork. A injury in midfield saw Benfica in more need of an extra player, and given it had been reported Rakip had wanted to stay anyway and was ‘surprised’ he wasn’t being kept, it made some sense.
If the youngster does well it can’t be ruled out he’ll be eager to stay, and that looks like a potential saga for the summer.
