Arsenal in the lead to sign Sergej Milinkovic-Savic
Arsenal are in the lead to sign Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, according to Gazzetta dello Sport (today’s edition, page 23).
The Gunners are likely to bolster the squad during the January transfer window as they look to keep up with Manchester City in the pursuit of an unexpected Premier League title.
Palmeiras’ Danilo has been frequently linked with a transfer, but The Athletic’s David Ornstein recently revealed that the Gunners don’t have any kind of interest in the Brazilian.
In our view, they could be eyeing a more versatile midfielder to add to the ranks and Lazio’s Milinkovic-Savic would be the perfect addition for January with his excellent box-to-box ability.
As per Gazzetta, Milinkovic-Savic’s value has dropped after a mixed World Cup with Serbia.
Lazio president Claudio Lolito has regularly talked up a €120m price tag, but with the midfielder’s contract expiring in 18 months, it is claimed that he could be available for around €50m.
Serie A rivals Juventus have been constantly linked with him, but Arsenal are in the lead for now.
Arsenal should attempt to land Milinkovic-Savic
The 27-year-old is widely regarded as one of the best box-to-box midfielders in Europe and he has been a consistent performer for Lazio over the past seven-and-a-half seasons.
In the current campaign, he has chipped in with an impressive five goals and seven assists in 20 games but has also been impressive in the defensive side of things for the Serie A side.
He has won nearly two tackles and one interception per game. The former Genk star has also won seven ground and aerial duels on average and could easily adapt to the Premier League.
The price tag remains the main stumbling block. Lolito has been adamant that the midfielder won’t leave for less than a nine-figure sum, but he may eventually give up on his stance.
Milinkovic-Savic clearly has no plans of renewing with the Rome outfit and Arsenal will be hoping to take advantage of the situation to land him for a reasonable fee next month.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com and SofaScore.com
