CRYSTAL PALACE F.C.

The 21-year-old central midfielder became Roy Hodgson's first signing as Palace manager when he arrived on loan for the second half of the season from Benfica in January 2018.

Earlier that month, Rakip had switched to the Portuguese capital from Malmo as the expiration of his contract with the Swedish champions.

A product of Malmo’s academy, Rakip joined the club aged five and debuted for his hometown team in 2013. He played 120 times in total, and has played a key role in the Sky Blues’ recent dominance picking up four Allsvenskan winners medals in his five seasons in the first-team and even played 16 times in the UEFA Champions League.

Rakip holds dual Swedish and Macedonian nationality, and has Turkish and Albanian origins.

He also has 11 caps for the Swedish under-21 side, scoring once, having helped his nation to a third-place finish at the FIFA U17 World Cup in 2013.