Lazio president Claudio Lotito has made it clear that he won’t accept less than €100 million for star midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
Reports yesterday suggested that Manchester United had submitted an offer worth €55 million for the 27-year-old Serbian star, who seems destined for a high profile transfer this summer, which did not convince Lotito. Following this offer, new talks were held between Mateja Kezman, Milinkovic-Savic’s agent, and the Lazio president.
As reported by Alfredo Pedulla, Lotito and Lazio made it clear to Kezman that they would not accept less than €100 million for Milinkovic-Savic, including various add-ons and bonuses. The Roman club are not desperately keen to lose their star, whose contract expires in 2024.
The Serbian midfielder is a favourite of both coach Maurizio Sarri and President Lotito, so a truly convincing offer will be needed if an agreement is to be reached this summer.
The 27-year-old Milinkovic-Savic, who joined Lazio in 2015, scored 11 goals and provided 11 assists in 37 Serie A appearances this season.
Apollo’s Thoughts
This shouldn’t really come as too much of a surprise. Lotito is known to be an incredibly tough negotiator and it’s clear that he doesn’t want to lose Milinkovic-Savic this summer. Setting a price like this puts the Roman club in a strong position amid the interest of both PSG and Manchester United, and considering that the Serbian is one of the best midfielders in the world, the price seems relatively fair.
Putting such a high price tag on Milinkovic-Savic also makes Lazio’s transfer strategy a little clearer; if they kept the Serbian, they’d most likely be forced to sell Luis Alberto, something which appears a little more palatable to both Sarri and Lotito. Therefore I wouldn’t be too shocked to see offers start arriving for the Spaniard in the coming weeks.
