Krishnan Sreekumar
Transfer News: Manchester United could return to Lazio to sign midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic in the summer
According to Monday’s edition of Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport (h/t Express), Manchester United ‘could’ return to Lazio at the end of the season to convince them to part ways with midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
United’s already weak midfield could suffer a further blow if Paul Pogba departs in the summer when his current deal with the club expires. Into the last six months of his contract, the Frenchman is free to speak to foreign clubs regarding a potential move and is eligible to sign a pre-contract agreement with them.
In the event the World Cup winner leaves the Manchester side for the second time in his career, then the squad will only have Fred, Scott McTominay, and Nemanja Matic as the available midfield options next term.
Donny van de Beek is expected to return to his parent club in the summer when his loan spell at Everton expires, but given the lack of minutes he has been afforded at Old Trafford this season, it is unclear as to what his future holds with the Red Devils. Hopefully, the potential appointment of a new permanent manager can turn his career around.
Reignite interest in Lazio star
With a potential replacement for Pogba eyed ahead of the new season, it is said that the Red Devils may reignite their interest for Milinkovic-Savic, with the club trying hard to woo the player back in 2019. Nearly three years later, the Serbia international could be sold as his contract at Lazio expires in 2024, and the Serie A side could cash in on the midfielder and get a large fee for him.
Although an exact price tag for the 27-year-old is not known, Lazio president Claudio Lotito is said to want a high figure, though that will be dictated by the level of interest shown in Milinkovic-Savic. On the cusp of entering the prime years of his career, perhaps a huge fee may be demanded by the Italian side if clubs apart from United are keen on signing the Serbian.
During his time in Italy, the Lazio star has proven to be a goal-scoring threat from midfield while also racking up impressive numbers in terms of appearances for the Serie A side. With qualities like this, Milinkovic-Savic could prove to be the missing link in the United squad- providing the steel we need off the ball while linking up with the attack when in possession.
Between Fred, McTominay, and Matic, the goals coming from these midfield options have come far and few. We saw Fred score recently against Leicester City on the weekend, but that can only be chalked off as a rare event. Pogba himself has not been able to contribute to goals this term and has largely looked unimpressive in the past few months when he was fit.
Although the current crop of options we have are good players, they are yet to prove that they can hold their own against stronger opposition and dictate play in the middle. Fred and McTominay have been guilty of this at times despite being first-choice in the team, while Matic is seeing his age catch up with him in terms of his performances.
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With Pogba being underwhelming during his second spell with the club, perhaps it is best to let him depart in the summer. We may be taking a loss on the price we paid to re-sign him, but in the event we snap up Milinkovic-Savic and he is able to lead us to trophies, it could be well worth the decision.
But that is something we may only get to know once we enter the summer. Not a lot of United fans would be opposed to the Serbian’s potential signing, and this is also a key area in our starting XI that we would do well to address.
