Premier League side West Ham United are leading the race to sign Fiorentina centre-back Nikola Milenkovic.
According to reports in Italian outlet Corriere Fiorentino, via Sport Witness, David Moyes is keen to add a central defender to the West Ham United squad ahead of the next season. The Hammers have identified Fiorentina’s Nikola Milenkovic as a possible signing and are now leading the race to land the Serbian international.
A Partizan Belgrade youth product, the centre-back moved to Italy in the summer of 2017 in a €5 million move. Milenkovic took a season to establish himself at the heart of the La Viola defence. After having made 16 league appearances in the 2017/18 season, his first with the club, he featured in 34 league encounters the next, scoring three goals as well.
Since then, the 24-year-old has become a mainstay in Fiorentina’s defence. He has, however, flirted with a move away from the club. With less than a year remaining on his contract in 2021, Milenkovic signed a one-year extension with the Serie A side amidst heavy interest from West Ham United. However, just a year later, the Hammers are back in the market for him again.
This season, the defender has made 30 appearances across competitions for the club, scoring three goals. With Milenkovic set to enter the final year of his contract after the ongoing season, a move away from Fiorentina looks likely. The aforementioned report claims that the Serbian signed a one-year extension last season on the condition that he would be allowed to leave this summer.
The report states that West Ham United are now at the front of the queue to sign Milenkovic in the summer. However, it is claimed that for the Serbian to think of moving to England, the East London club will need to offer him European football.
The Hammers are in the race to finish amongst the European spots in the Premier League. They are currently seventh in the league, six points off fourth-placed Arsenal, who have two matches in hand. They are two points shy of Manchester United in sixth, with the Red Devils also having a game in hand over Moyes’ side.
Moyes will be keen for his team to finish amongst one of the European spots so as to attract bigger names from across Europe and build a formidable squad for the next season. Whether they are able to convince Milenkovic to make the jump after missing out on him last year remains to be seen.