Manchester United has been linked with a summer move for Sergej Milinkovic-Savic. United’s recent disastrous performances, uncertainty over Paul Pogba’s future, inconsistent performances from Scott McTominay and the lack of games for Nemanja Matic has prompted the Manchester United board to begin planning for the next season, especially for the midfield section. Lazio’s Sergej Milinkovic-Savic has been a United target for the last few seasons.
Manchester United made some promising signings at the start of the season including Cristiano Ronaldo. They started their season brilliantly under manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. However, it was not at all a smooth run for the Red Devils after that. Even a change of manager in mid-season has been unable to bring consistency in the team’s performances. With a recent 1-4 loss to city rivals Manchester City, the Ralf Rangnick led team sits in the fifth position in the league table. As a result, the board decided to get serious and identify the problems that has led to this situation. They are sincere about finding suitable solutions for the upcoming season.
Why United Needs Milinkovic-Savic
The primary problem has been the lack of progressive passes leading to goal scoring chances. Therefore according to Gazzetta Dello Sport (via Football365), Manchester United are after the Lazio star midfielder. The report mentioned that the record Premier League champions would have to shell out around £60-70m to bring the Serbian at Old Trafford. It added that French giants Paris-Saint Germain also want to sign the midfielder, with Leonardo wanting to ‘challenge’ United for the 27-year-old player.
Manchester United see Sergej Milinković-Savić as ‘the heir of Pogba’. PSG are also interested in the Lazio midfielder and are ready to ‘challenge’ United for his signature. #MUFC [@cmdotcom via @Sport_Witness]
— mufcmpb (@mufcMPB) March 8, 2022
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic arrived in Lazio in the summer of 2015, after a season with Belgian club Genk. The Rome-based club brought the Serbian international for a mere €18m (around £15m). Since then, the central midfielder has appeared in over 280 matches for the Italian outfit, scoring 55 goals and has 49 assists. He helped Lazio secure the Coppa Italia in 2018/19 and has established himself as one of its star players. The midfielder also has 28 caps with the Serbian national team.
Milinkovic-Savic has been exceptional this season under new manager Maurizio Sarri. In 27 Serie A appearances this term, he has been involved in 8 goals and 9 assists. His underlying statistics are also impressive. Milinkovic-Savic’s “expected goals per 90 minutes” is 0.20. This number is only bettered by Ciro Immobile (0.78) and Pedro (0.21), both forwards. His “expected assists per 90 minutes” is 0.18, only behind Luis Alberto (0.28) and Felipe Anderson (0.25).
Lazio want a considerable fee to sell Sergey Milinkovic in the summer amidst interest from Juventus and Man Utd, report Il Messaggero. PSG could also enter the running for the Serbian.https://t.co/6yPltfAsVC
— Get Italian Football News (@_GIFN) March 3, 2022
Can United Actually Pull Off The Deal?
With such impressive statistics, it is natural that Milinkovic-Savic will grab the attention of top European clubs. The report also mentioned he was ‘seriously thinking’ about a change of scenery in the summer. Manchester United could take advantage of this and convince the player for a fresh challenge in the Premier League. The English club has long considered him on their wish-list and see him as the natural ‘heir of Pogba’. The Frenchman is believed to be inclined to leave the Old Trafford this season after his contract runs out in the summer.
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This transfer could help the Red Devils massively next season, who are currently all over the place right now. With a new manager set to enter the dugouts of the English giants next season, Milinkovic-Savic would help in solving the problem of midfield department of the club.
