Manchester United are considering a bid of €68 million (£57.5m) for Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, according to Manchester Evening News.
The Red Devils have plans to recruit Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona, but a deal seems improbable at the moment with the player reluctant to leave.
On top of this, United face competition from Chelsea for the Netherlands international, and they may have an edge with Champions League football.
Hence, the club are looking at alternatives. An deal worth £20m has been agreed for Juventus’ Adrien Rabiot, and personal terms are being discussed.
Milinkovic-Savic has emerged as the next midfielder on their radar. The Serbian has been a long-term target for United. They previously failed to sign him in 2018.
Back then, United were put off by the €100m (£84m) price tag, but he could now be signed for much less with his contract expiring in less than two years.
De Jong has been earmarked as the ‘right player‘ to operate from the deep-lying role for United. A deal worth £72m has been agreed with Barcelona, but the midfielder continues to resist a transfer.
One of United’s fallback options is Rabiot and the other seems to be Milinkovic-Savic. The big question is how Ten Hag plans to play the two in his line-up.
Neither Rabiot nor Milinkovic-Savic is a genuine holding midfielder. Rabiot tends to operate from the left side of midfield and likes to push forward regularly.
Milinkovic-Savic is the opposite with his right-sided dominance. Neither of them tend to operate centrally and there is not much protection in front of the defence.
This raises questions why the Red Devils would be keen on signing both. Of course, Milinkovic-Savic looks better suited and he can be a regular goal contributor.
Milinkovic-Savic bagged an impressive 11 goals and 12 assists from 47 outings for Lazio last term.
If United are looking for a holding midfielder this summer, Guido Rodriguez seems a much better option as he operates centrally and drops deep to help his defenders.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com and SofaScore.com
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