Meghna Sengupta
As per a report by Daily Mail, Manchester United are set to abandon their pursuit of Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic. The report claims that the Italian outfit are demanding a fee in the region of £87.5million and that United are unwilling to shell out that kind of money.
Daily Mail has also stated that initial offers were around £70million, but now with the price nearing almost £90million, United are expected to pull out.
There have been reports suggesting Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Fred’s potential arrival at Old Trafford. Fred, who is a defensive midfielder by trade, is expected to slot in alongside Nemanja Matic in the defensive midfield region, which will free Paul Pogba from that role.
In doing so, the swashbuckling Frenchman will be able to essay the role of an attacking midfielder and hence, it makes no sense for United to spend £87.5million to sign Milinkovic-Savic.
The Serbian operates in a manner similar to that of Pogba’s and it would not be economically feasible to bring in a similar player when other areas in the team also require strengthening.
To be fair, Milinkovic-Savic is a promising player and his return of 14 goals and 6 assists this season does eclipse Pogba’s tally of 7 goals and 11 assists. However, one must also bear in mind that Pogba played a good majority of the season as Matic’s partner and that limited his movement while contributing to the attack.
Thus, given the current situation, a move for Milinkovic-Savic seems unnecessary and with a price that high, United must stay far away.
