Liverpool are reportedly locking horns with bitter rivals Manchester United over a potential summer move for Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
According to a report by Daily Mirror, Liverpool are the latest club to have registered an interest to sign Sergej Milinkovic-Savic in the summer transfer window. Manchester United are also keen on landing the 26-year-old Serbian midfielder, who is valued at around £60 million by Serie A outfit Lazio.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is coming off the back of arguably his best campaign to date for Lazio. The Serbian international joined the Biancocelesti from KRC Genk in the summer of 2015 and has since gone on to establish himself as one of the best midfielders on show in Serie A.
To date, the 26-year-old has a solid record of 47 goals and 38 assists in 247 appearances for Lazio. However, his constantly upward trajectory has invariably attracted the who’s who of European football and in the ongoing summer transfer window, Milinkovic-Savic is the subject of interest from Liverpool and Manchester United.
Liverpool’s eagerness to sign Milinkovic-Savic makes a lot of sense, considering they are yet to find a long-term replacement for Georginio Wijnaldum. With the Dutch midfielder now at Paris Saint-Germain, Jurgen Klopp does have as many as 7 midfielders at his disposal in Jordan Henderson, Thiago Alcantara, Fabinho, Curtis Jones, James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
However, while Keita and Oxlade-Chamberlain have proven to be unreliable of late for the Reds due to their poor fitness record, Milner is in the twilight of his career and cannot feature week in week out for Liverpool. Milinkovic-Savic is, therefore, a viable target for the Merseyside club. As for Manchester United, their pursuit of the Serb is interesting.
While Paul Pogba’s customary links with Real Madrid, Juventus and PSG have resurfaced, it seems as if Camavinga is the priority for the Red Devils, who are reportedly closing in on the signing of the 18-year-old French whizkid. However, with Chelsea lurking in pursuit of the teenage prodigy, it is prudent to keep options open, which explains the interest in Milinkovic-Savic.
However, prising him away from Lazio will cost a pretty penny, with the Serie A giants slapping a £60 million price tag on the player. Such a valuation could well put a spanner in the works for both Liverpool and Manchester United, with the latter focusing a lot on their funds on the Jadon Sancho operation while the former have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
For now, Liverpool have made contact with Lazio over the prospect of signing Milinkovic-Savic while Manchester United have registered their interest in him. What now remains to be seen is if either club is open to meeting his £60 million valuation or if they both try to drive down his asking price.
