Varun Pai
Transfer News: Manchester United favourites to land Lazio ace Sergej Milinkovic-Savic
According to transfer news on Calciomercato (h/t Daily Mail), Manchester United are leading the race to sign Lazio star Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
The 26-year-old has had yet another stellar campaign with the Italian club this season. Under Maurizio Sarri, the Serbian international has gone from strength to strength, scoring 7 goals and providing 7 assists in 19 league games. However, the midfielder may now be on his way out of Italy.
Man United have been linked with the player and are apparently sending concrete signals to sign him in the summer. Lazio value their prized asset at €70million, but the Red Devils are yet to table a formal bid. However, the owners of the Serie A club, Claudio Lotito and Mateja Kezman, are thought to have reached an ‘informal agreement’ to sell the midfielder to the Old Trafford outfit.
Juventus are also keen on the player’s signature. However, it is claimed that signing Milinkovic-Savic could be out of the financial reach of the Italian juggernauts.
Milinkovic-Savic to replace Paul Pogba?
The French superstar arrived at the Theatre of Dreams in 2016 and has blown hot and cold during his five and a half seasons at the club. However, he is primed for an exit in the summer, as he is yet to pen an extension on his contract.
Thus, he could be leaving a hole in the midfield line, and Ralf Rangnick is keen on adding reinforcements. The Lazio ace could be a useful signing for us in that regard, given his eye for detail in defending and enthusiasm in attack as well.
He is a valuable player to have in the squad and has often played as a number 6, 8, and 10 at Lazio. Moreover, he has had only a few serious injuries in his career, evidenced by the fact that he has made 272 appearances for the Italian outfit since joining in 2015.
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Thus, Milinkovic-Savic can provide consistency and quality. He is also only 26 and has quite a lot of years ahead of him. Ideally, we would keep Pogba at the club, but if the 28-year-old is to depart soon, the Serbian international could be a more than reasonable replacement for the 2018 World Cup winner.
Better yet, we keep the former Juventus man and then sign the Serbian international. But things may not be that easy for us. Nevertheless, we arguably already had a need for a defensive midfielder coming into this season. If we lose Pogba and still don’t sign a quality player in that position, questions would certainly have to be raised about transfer strategy.
