Sergej Milinkovic-Savic: Lazio to drop price-tag next summer

According to Sky Italia, cited by The Mirror, Lazio will consider reducing their £100 million asking price for Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, but have no plans to sell the midfielder in January.

That suggests Lazio will be open to selling their Serbian star in the summer as he has allegedly failed to produce the same form of last season.

If it is the case that Lazio are actively trying to cash in on Milinkovic-Savic, Manchester United ought to wary of rekindling their interest, as claimed by Goal. They suggest he “has performed dismally so far this season” which is not something you want to hear ahead of a potential mega-money transfer…

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United have had enough underperforming stars down the years and SMS only really came to prominence the past year. Could it be the case that he simply exceeded expectations and is unable to replicate such form again?

That happens more often than you think as you will see with Mohamed Salah this season.

However, SMS is still young at 23, and Jose Mourinho may feel he can get the best out of him yet. Though that is something the manager has failed to do with any of his midfield signings at United, with Nemanja Matic being an exception in his debut campaign for the club.

In his breakthrough season, SMS scored 12 goals and provided three assists in 35 Serie A appearances. United could definitely do with more goals from midfield, but would he be expected to play a deeper role under Mourinho?

The Portuguese tactician is probably a fan of his physicality, technique and ball control for such a tall player. SMS is also versatile enough to contribute in both defence and attack, as noted below by Squawka:

Lazio owner Claudio Lotito revealed he turned down a €70 million offer in 2017, as per BBC Sport, but he has registered just one goal and an assist in Serie A this season.

As is the case with a lot of young footballers, inconsistency may be playing a misfortunate part at this stage of SMS’ career, though we should wait and see if he can bounce back between now and the end of the season. His all-round quality would bolster Mourinho’s squad.

If Lazio are open to offers of under £100 million for SMS next summer, expect a number of clubs to scout the Serb closely, including United.

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