Reports in theLondon Evening Standardsay that new £13m Crystal Palace midfielder Luka Milivojevic is still finalising a work visa.
The 25-year-old Serb signed from Olympiakos in the January transfer window, but has yet to be allowed formal rights to work in the UK, a fact that is causing Eagles' bossSam Allardyce great frustration.
Despite having been officially signed for over a week, Milivojevic has yet to return to the UK after inking his new contract. It is unclear how far along the process he is and doubts are surfacing about his eligibility to play on Saturday against Stoke.
Although there is thought to be no formal issues with the paperwork, Milivojevic has still not been accepted through the process.
#CPFC are still waiting for Luka Milivojevic to finalise a visa one week after his £13m move from Olympiakos https://t.co/DyrPbETlsh
Allardyce is desperate to get the midfielder in to the fold after a humiliating 4-0 homedefeat to former employers Sunderland last weekend, considered by some to be the low point of his club managerial career.
He will bring a bit of stability into midfield,� said Allardyce. You can get through it too easily at times. You saw that against Sunderland.�
Responding to jeers from the Palace fans, Allardyce added: It's an emotional game and fans get very emotional when they see us turn out the sort of performance we did.
We don't want them to react like that but in many ways you can understand it. Fans will show their disapproval when they've paid their money “ not that way. The booing I expected, and rightly so. But they shouldn't be jumping over on to the pitch and confronting a player.�
Palace have won only once since Allardyce took over from Alan Pardew on December 23rd. The former England manager has been unable to arrest apoor run of form that has left Palace two points from safety and deep in the relegation zone in 19th place.