Manchester United could be about to once more spend big on a midfielder from Serie A three years after the then world record signing of Paul Pogba from Juventus.
According to Sky Sport Italia [via Sky Sports], the Old Trafford club are interested in signing Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
They will have to dig deep to secure him, though, with Sky Sport Italia claiming that Lazio president Claudio Lotito values him at £90million and will not accept anything less [via Sky Sports].
The 24-year-old Serbia international signed a new deal with the Serie A club last October and, according to Sky Sports, he would be open to leaving Lazio but will not attempt to force through a transfer.
Milinkovic-Savic’s agent flew to England last weekend (according to The Sun), suggesting that a transfer is a firm possibility, while the player’s willingness to give Lazio another season (as claimed by Sky Sports) indicates that he is committed to the task of playing football irrespective of any speculation.
That is a noteworthy trait in a week that has seen Neymar failing to report for training at Paris Saint-Germain and Laurent Koscielny refusing to join Arsenal’s pre-season US tour.
A report in The Sun on Thursday claimed that Manchester United will only complete a deal for Milinkovic-Savic if Pogba leaves Old Trafford. Were both of those to happen, the Red Devils would get a like-for-like replacement for the French World Cup winner.
Both are tall midfielders of 6 ft 4 (1.91cm) in height and they are both central midfielders who can play in an attacking midfield role when needed.
Pogba was the far more prolific of the two last season, his 16 goals and 11 assists in 47 games outweighing Milinkovic-Savic with seven goals and three assists in 41 appearances.
Over the course of the last three seasons, though, the comparative goal involvements are far closer. Since rejoining Manchester United in 2016, Pogba has scored 31 goals and made 28 assists. In that time, Milinkovic-Savic has scored 28 goals and provided 17 assists.
While the France midfielder has the better scoring and creativity records, his Serbia counterpart contributes more to his team defensively.
Last season, Milinkovic-Savic won an average of 3.6 aerial duels per game in Serie A. Pogba, who is the same height and plays in the same position, succeeded with only 1.7 aerial duels per game in the Premier League.
Also, the Lazio man averaged 1.4 tackles and 0.9 interceptions per game in the league, giving him the edge on Pogba for both metrics (the latter’s match averages were 1.3 tackles and 0.5 interceptions).
If Manchester United can persuade Pogba to remain at Old Trafford, there seems no imminent need for Milinkovic-Savic. If the France midfielder leaves, however, his transfer fee should certainly be put towards getting the Serbian to sign on the dotted line.
Manchester United fans, do you think spending £90m on Milinkovic-Savic would be good business or would he be an expensive flop? Let us know what you think by commenting below!
