Manchester United have reportedly reignited their interest in Lazio’s Serbian midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic this summer. United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is said to want the 25-year-old to line up in midfield with Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba next season – adding some power, pace and steel to his midfield ahead of the start of the 2020/21 season with United expected to challenge the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City for Premier League glory.
According to FootMercato, reported by The Sun, the Old Trafford club are preparing a summer move for the Lazio midfielder. If this is true, it could be good news for United. However, there always seems to be rumours linking the club with as many players as possible and supporters will need to weigh up whether there is anything solid in the reporting. In this case, I would say no but that is just my opinion. It is, however, stated that United will have competition from Real Madrid, Juventus, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, which seems a little strange to be honest.
Real Madrid are, according to rumour, not making any plans to sign any big name players this summer because of the coronavirus pandemic. Chelsea seem to have spent a lot of money already this summer and it would suggest that their name is being used, probably along with United and the Madrid club. Spurs might be in the market for another midfielder, however, a high fee might be a problem for them as they are not know to splash the cash, which is part of their problem.
Paris Saint-Germain are reported to have already made a £54 million move for the Serbian midfielder this summer, which was rejected by the Italian club. It is suggested that £90 million would be required to sign the player this summer but some seem to think that £63 million could be enough to get a deal done, which if true could be a good deal for the player, providing he does start to show promise once again, like he did a few seasons ago for the Italian club, which saw him linked to United and others at the time.
This season, in 41 appearances for Lazio, Milinkovic-Savic made a total of 41 appearances playing in the Serie A, Supercoppa Italiana, Coppa Italia and the UEFA Europa League. The Serbian has scored eight goals, adding eight more assists, which is a good rate of goals and assists from the midfield. The player is a central midfielder and does not play any other positions but in terms of creativity, he has a good head on his shoulders. It remains to be seen whether United can play without a defensive minded midfielder on the pitch but on paper, this could work.
The Serbian is contracted at Lazio until the summer of 2024, meaning that the club will not be in a rush to sell the player and will be holding out for the best deal with the player seemingly holding out for the best club, which could make things complicated. Of course, this report could have been leaked in order to get the player an enhanced contract at the club. This has been seen many times in the past with players linked to multiple clubs and ending up remaining at their club signing a new bumper contract. Cynical I know but it happens a lot.
Written by John Walker
