Chelsea and Tottenham to be denied attacking midfielder
Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur have been told to forget about signing Slovenia international, and Palermo attacking midfielder Josip Ilicic in January with the clubs chairman, Guglielmo Micciche, insists the 23 year old will remain in Italy until at least June next year.
“I’ve read a lot about the future of Ilicic, but I can reiterate that the boy will stay with us, certainly till June.”
The chairman also claimed to have read certain reports linking Ilicic to certain Premiership clubs and can understand the interest, suggesting that Chelsea and Tottenham would have to face two Serie A sides for his signature.
“He may appeal to many teams, I read about some English clubs, Juventus and Fiorentina, but no one came to ask about him. He’s a key element in Palermo and we have no intention to lose him.”
The agent of Ilicic, Amir Ruznic, backed the chairmans comments suggesting a move in January would be very unlikely.
“I really don’t believe Ilicic will leave Palermo in January, in recent days I spoke to the club and no one told me anything. I don’t know anything about it. Perhaps there have been contacts between the clubs but at the moment none of these clubs have spoken to me.”
Ilicic’s agent continued:
“In any case, it would not be easy to replace him midway through the season. However, perhaps in June it would be a different story.”
He also managed to get a plug in which would certainly lead to further interest from other clubs by adding:
“Ilicic is a player of great value and has great technique and quality. I could see him doing well in a big club.”
