Liverpool need new midfielders for next season, and one who they should keep an eye on is Lazio star Sergej Milinković-Savić, as extension talks have broken down.
Unless one has lived under a rock for the past several months, it’s been very evident that Liverpool needs more than one new midfielder at the end of this season.
Jürgen Klopp’s engine room has looked tired and dysfunctional over the last few months. The real lack of investment in midfield, with Thiago Alcântara the only true signing since the summer of 2018, is now coming back to haunt the club, and performances in this campaign have been inconsistent on the back of an out-of-sorts midfield.
One midfielder who the club could feasibly sign, without costing hundreds of millions, is Lazio’s elegant-but-tall midfielder Sergej Milinković-Savić. The Serb has been in the Italian capital since the summer of 2015 and has stayed at the club longer than most expected. Milinković-Savić has forever been connected with moves away from Lazio, each summer brings new links, but by the end of the summer transfer window he’s always remained.
If you are asking why, it’s because Lazio president Claudio Lotito is one of the fiercest negotiators in the Italian game, and only allows players to leave when he believes a satisfactory offer has been made. Lotito drives a hard bargain, and said as much as recently as October, when asked about Milinković-Savić.
“I have no agreement with his agent [Mateja] Kezman to sell him to Juventus or anyone else in the winter,” he told Roman newspaper Il Messaggero. “On the contrary, he is now worth $130m (£106m/€120m), not $108m (£88m/€100m). Every month the price goes up.”
Lotito also revealed that he was hoping to tie the Serb down and keep him for his peak years. His contract expires at the end of next season, but it’s been reported by the same outlet that the player’s agent, former Chelsea striker Kezman, has canceled talks over a renewal.
Now, however, according to Il Messagero (translated by via Tutto Juve), Lazio are willing to sanction a loan exit for the 27-year-old in January for a $11m (£9m/€10m) fee, with a further $38m (£31m/€35m) required to make the deal permanent in the summer.
It’s also been reported (via Il Messaggero) that Newcastle are preparing a massive bid, plus an equally massive contract, to entice both club and player to accept a deal to bring Milinković-Savić to Tyneside. So should Liverpool consider a move for Milinković-Savić too?
It’s unlikely that Liverpool would make a move for Milinković-Savić now in January, despite the current midfield woes, but should he remain in the Eternal City until the summer, Liverpool would be wise to make a move.
Blessed with the technique of Thiago but in the frame of Virgil van Dijk, Milinković-Savić possesses the muscularity and robustness that Liverpool’s current midfield is lacking. He can shoot from either foot, take free-kicks, and dribble but also make tackles and can more than hold his own physically.
In essence, he’s three players rolled into one. Jude Bellingham is the clear number-one target for the club in the summer, but should that move fail, then Milinković-Savić should be high on the list of alternatives due to his versatility and ability to interpret different roles in midfield. He can play box-to-box, but can also sit deep and dictate play.
Valued at $64m (£53m/€60m) by Transfermarkt, Milinković-Savić is the kind of midfielder Liverpool needs, and if he was bought together with Bellingham, Liverpool’s midfield for 2023/24 would be massively upgraded.
SOURCE: liverpool.com
