Chelsea To Submit £102m Bid For Man Utd Target After Player Goes AWOL

There is plenty of Manchester United and Chelsea gossip doing the rounds in the papers with the English giants linked with a whole host of star names. Today, Chelsea are ready to steal a march on Man Utd….

Chelsea are ready to launch a mega £102m bid for Manchester United target Sergey Milinkovic-Savic after he failed to report for pre-season training with Lazio, according to CalcioMercato.

Milinkovic-Savic has become one of the most sought-after players in Europe since joining Lazio from Genk in 2015 and he provided 14 goals and 9 assists to help his club finish fifth in the Serie A table last season which saw them narrowly miss out on Champions League qualification.

The 23-year-old’s potential has caught the attention of clubs here in the Premier League and TeamTalk reported earlier this month that Manchester United were in pole position after opening talks with Lazio over a potential deal.

Jose Mourinho has expressed his frustration at the clubs lack of activity in the transfer market this summer with Fred the only significant addition to the squad but Milinkovic-Savic would certainly be a marquee addition if United could win the race for his signature.

However, TeamTalk then reported last week that the Serbian international was ready to snub interest from Man Utd in favour of joining Chelsea after new boss Maurizio Sarri identified the midfielder as a key target.

Milinkovic-Savic was due to return to pre-season training and undergo medical tests with Lazio on Sunday afternoon following an extended post-World Cup break but he failed to report for duty.

It looks like Chelsea are now ready to step-up their interest as Corriere dello Sport, via CalcioMercato, claim the Blues are set to test Lazio’s resolve with a formal offer worth around £102m over the coming days.

The Italian publication says that bid would be just short of Lazio’s £107m asking price but with the two clubs only around £5m apart with their valuations it would be a surprise if a deal wasn’t agreed in the end.

Chelsea have already signed Jorginho but they are in the market for another midfielder as Tiemoue Bakayoko and Danny Drinkwater are expected to leave this summer and it seems Sarri has lined-up Milinkovic-Savic as a replacement.

READ MORE –> Chelsea transfer news | Man Utd transfer news

We’ll have to wait and see whether United decide to step-up their interest in the Serbian star but as it stands it seems Chelsea are in pole position and I think Milinkovic-Savic would be an excellent signing if they could get the deal over the line.