Manchester United are reportedly considering a £57.5 million for Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinković-Savic. The report from the Manchester Evening News suggests that United are ‘frantically attempting to strengthen their squad’ after struggling to sign Frenkie de Jong.
Richard Arnold and John Murtough travelled to Barcelona at the start of pre-season training with reports suggesting that the Old Trafford club had been somewhat successful in closing a deal. However, the player does not look like he is leaving the Catalan club.
United were linked with Juventus midfielder Adrien Rabiot on Monday with reports of a deal being agreed with the Italian club and now discussions with the players agent and mother, Veronique is progressing. it is said that Erik ten Hag has had discussions with the player already.
Milinkovic-Savic, 27, has a contract at Lazio until the summer of 2024, so this would really be the last summer transfer window that could see the club ask for a high transfer fee for the Serbian. Although it is said that they have been seeking a buyer for the player for some time.
Back in the summer of 2018, which seems more than four years ago, it was deemed that the Serbian was too expensive based on his €100 million price tag that summer, which also saw other interest in the player being sidelined.
Milinkovic-Savic plays in an advanced midfield role at Lazio, with United having Bruno Fernandes and Christian Eriksen already. The 27-year-old scored 11 goals and 12 assists in 47 appearances last season, which could be beneficial for United.
It is suggested that Milinkovic-Savic is a backup for De Jong, should United end up being unsuccessful in the pursuit of the Netherlands international, which seems likely. United made have agreed a fee with Barcelona but the player just does not seem to be budging.
Any decent club would have seen this coming and set a deadline to complete such a deal, walking away after that point but United have sat there, for months, looking weak and pathetic and now it could be that Adrien Rabiot could choose AS Monaco if they reach the Champions League tonight.
The modern-day Manchester United is really distant from the United of old. The club is more of a business today than a football club wanting to achieve results on the pitch and add to their impressive haul of trophies. What a time to be alive.
Written by John Walker
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