According to Corriere dello Sport (via Sport Witness), Arsenal are considered to be in pole position to sign Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic in 2023.
Arsenal have been linked with numerous names over the past few weeks and Milinkovic-Savic is one of those that has received several mentions. The Serbian has been fancied to leave Lazio for a while and it is now claimed by Corriere dello Sport that Arsenal are favourites to sign him in January or June.
The report also says the 27-year-old is more convinced over the project under manager Mikel Arteta which was not the case in the summer. His representative Mateja Kezman believes he could be sold for £44 million but Lazio president Claudio Lolito reportedly values him higher than that.
Quality
Milinkovic-Savic is one of the best box-to-box midfielders going around in world football. He has been outstanding for Lazio for several seasons and has barely let them down. He may now want to secure a bigger challenge during the peak of his career and Arsenal are the right club for him.
The London giants have Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka as their regular midfield pairing at the moment but there is room for improvement. Xhaka has adapted to manager Mikel Arteta’s need for more creativity this season with four goals and four assists but Milinkovic-Savic could fare better.
The Serbian is three years younger than Xhaka and has been a regular goal contributor. This season, he has amassed five goals and seven assists from 20 outings for Lazio. He has also been defensively solid with his strong tackles and ability to win a high percentage of ground and aerial duels.
Arsenal’s priority for January is the purchase of a versatile forward. They are currently engaged in talks with Shakhtar Donetsk for Mykhaylo Mudryk and there is optimism that a deal will be struck soon. Milinkovic-Savic would be an equally good signing but much depends on the budget and transfer fee.
Knowing Lolito’s tough negotiating skills, he won’t be letting go of Milinkovic-Savic for £44 million this winter. Arsenal may have a better chance of signing him for the same fee in the summer when the Serbian will enter the last year of his Lazio contract.
