Serie A Sassuolo are reported to be keen to seal an early permanent deal for loanee Blues keeper Aro Muric but at a reduced price.

Kosovo international Muric joined the newly promoted Serie B champions on a season-long loan in August with an option for a €10 million (£8.7 million) long-term switch next summer.

Now, according to Sport Mediaset, the ninth-placed Neroverdi have made it known that they would like to do an earlier permanent deal and are trying to negotiate a small discount on the figure agreed last summer.

The 26-year-old has made an impressive start to his season in Italy, keeping two Serie A clean sheets in five games, while his form has been even better for Kosovo during their World Cup qualification campaign, keeping three successive clean sheets as his side closes in on a play-off place.

Swiss-born Muric endured a tough first season at Portman Road having signed from Burnley for £8 million plus £2 million in add-ons in July last year, signing a four-year deal.

Muric’s 2024/25 was ended prematurely by a shoulder injury which required surgery and his only involvement in pre-season was as a half-time sub in the 2-1 victory over Charlton at Colchester.

Photo: IMAGO/Sportimage via Reuters Connect

IndependentlyBlue added 16:49 - Oct 16 Get it done, use the money wisely, move on. Whatever he does he’ll never be given a second chance by some on here
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Cookieboy added 16:51 - Oct 16 Hope it's not too hasty, could turn out better than we have once his confidence returns
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MrBeckinsale added 17:06 - Oct 16 So he's done better than they expected and want to tie up a permanent deal earlier.... why would it be at a reduced price?
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Cafe_Newman added 17:08 - Oct 16 All seems a bit wonky to me. If you like a player and you want to change the conditions of the original deal, you pay more. If our player is playing badly, that's our problem. But he's not. Everyone wants a good goalie, so if you want him outside the conditions of the deal in place, let's hear your offer. Ashton isn't stupid, he's not gonna say "he's good again, let's cut our losses".

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Kentish_Tractor added 17:15 - Oct 16 So basically they want to have their cake AND eat it. I see.
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bringmeaKuqi added 17:21 - Oct 16 He has an 82% save percentage so far (in 5 starts, 6 goals conceded and keeping two clean sheets). It's the fourth highest save percentage in the league behind the likes of Mike Maignan at Milan. He always was a decent shotstopper (apart from when he turned into a hologram in important games like Southampton, Bournemouth, Newcastle, Leicester). But it was his decision-making and passing that was a bigger issue and that's less likely to show in only 5 games.

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muccletonjoe added 17:24 - Oct 16 Presumably they have already paid for a season loan.
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Everydayblue added 17:28 - Oct 16 Take £8 million.. Wipe our mouths of a small loss and move on... Didn't think we'd get anywhere near that for him. Not so long ago.
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Kentish_Tractor added 17:47 - Oct 16 Although if it means we can sign a new quality goalkeeper in January with the money then I'm all for it. I rate Palmer as one of the weakest players in our team.
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cressi added 18:00 - Oct 16 Kentish Nothing wrong with Palmer at championship level and that is what we are at present. If Muric goes we can access what we need in what position come Jan a keeper is not a position we need to worry about at the moment.
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HopefulBlue69 added 18:01 - Oct 16 Tbh id threaten to recall him in Jan window (if loan allows it) and see if others would want to do a 2nd 1/2 season loan. If they want to keep him, make them pay the full fee previously agreed for a perm move in Jan. We don't want to become known as a soft touch in terms of transfer deals as that would cost us more in the long run....
3

OliveR16 added 18:18 - Oct 16 He might be the best keeper on our books now, but the reality is he wouldn't want to return and the ghosts of last season would be waiting. Far better for him to move on and have a successful career elsewhere.
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Rimsy added 18:26 - Oct 16 Cash in ASAP, while he's in a vein of form. He's bound to throw in a few howlers and his value could plummet. Or worse we'd have to take him back. Never thought we'd get anywhere near what we paid.
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Guthrum added 18:35 - Oct 16 Are we paying some of his wages? If so, then two-thirds of a season's worth of that (which Town would no longer have to lay out) might represent the small discount being mentioned.
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htb added 19:16 - Oct 16 Almost certainly the best keeper we have on our books but agree with those who say it would be difficult to integrate vack into team, therefore if the money is right take it and reinvest
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Nutkins_Return added 19:29 - Oct 16 The hope will be that there will be a bit of a bidding war and we can get a nice little profit.
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DeliasMashedPotato added 19:50 - Oct 16 Get it done. As good as he might be, we did not see it here. I'd love to see him do well for us but I just fear we bring him back and has another stinker and we are back to square one so wouldnt want to risk seeing him in a town shirt again. The Italian game is generally a bit slower which probably helps with his decision making.
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ITFC_1994 added 19:58 - Oct 16 Sadly he has no future at ipswich because of the way some "fans" were towards him.... Looking like he could turn out to be one of the best keepers in Europe eventually.... Nice one lads... On a serious note: I had forgotten about the "to buy" option and had been thinking we could be in for a big fee in the summer, having seen how well he'd been doing.... but I think we'd have all been happy to turn a profit on him this time last year... Some things just aren't meant to be and I wish him all the best! I really like Palmer but we will need a new keeper if we get promoted, hopefully some lessons have been learned from the Muric situation and we go for a low risk, experienced safe pair of hands!

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flykickingbybgunn added 20:33 - Oct 16 Well done for him. I am glad he has impressed. He is worth what he is worth. It is all down to horse trading now. We say this, they say that and then meet somewhere inbetween.
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algarvefan added 22:21 - Oct 16 I think there is a very good keeper in there somewhere but it didn't really appear here at Ipswich. It makes sense to negotiate his transfer now and look for another keeper in January to take us forward. Palmer is a good keeper and I think any criticism of him is unfair, I suspect if Muric does go then so will Walton and whoever we bring in can compete with Palmer for the 1st team with Button as emergency cover.

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armchaircritic59 added 00:13 - Oct 17 For me based on what I've seen, undoubtedly AP is a very decent Championship keeper. Muric I feel, potentially has a higher ceiling, and he's 3 years younger. Guess we'll see how it all works out.
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