Chelsea are reportedly interested in a summer swoop for Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, who could cost them €40 million this summer.
Chelsea are plotting a move to secure the services of Serbian midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic. That’s according to Il Tempo (via Sport Witness), who says the Blues are looking to “bring in a midfielder or two” to bolster Mauricio Pochettino’s squad after the recent mass clearout. And they have “shown interest” in landing Lazio’s Milinkovic-Savic.
The 28-year-old is in the final year of his contract with Lazio, whom he joined eight years ago from Genk. And having been endlessly linked with a move to the Premier League in years gone by, he could finally do so this summer as the Biancocelesti are not progressing in talks about extending his existing contract.
Mateja Kezman, the former Chelsea striker now serving as Milinkovic-Savic’s agent, is currently sounding out possible destinations for his client. And one of the sides Kezman has offered Milinkovic-Savic to is his former club.
Chelsea like Milinkovic-Savic and are ready to consider him as one potential option to strengthen their midfield this summer. But they are currently prioritising a different profile of a midfield player than the Serbian international, strongly linked to the likes of Moises Caicedo or Romeo Lavia.
However, it won’t be surprising if Chelsea do sign more than one new midfielder before the start of next season. The departures of Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, and Mason Mount have created a huge void in midfield for the London giants. Milinkovic-Savic is an adequate profile to provide creativity, energy, and goals from the middle of the park.
He possesses a number of strengths, mainly his passing ability, and impact in the final third, having scored eleven goals and provided eight assists last season. In total, the maestro has registered 128 goal involvements in 341 appearances for Lazio, which is a brilliant return when you consider the fact he plays as more of a box-to-box midfielder than an attacking midfielder.
Not to mention, his experience and leadership skills could prove invaluable to Chelsea in the future. Barring an ageing Thiago Silva, they lack commanding voices in the dressing room with the imminent departure of club captain Cesar Azpilicueta.
With Chelsea lacking goals in the side — the Blues scored just 38 Premier League goals last term — a move for Milinkovic-Savic at around €40 million just makes a lot of sense.
The player has no shortage of suitors; Arsenal, Inter, and Juventus have all been credited with an interest in him. But none of them seem willing to invest heavily in a 28-year-old in the final year of his contract. Chelsea, meanwhile, can roll the dice after recouping well over €150 million from player sales recently.
