They are not the same type of players, but could be the ultimate solution for Manchester United’s midfield: Frankie de Jong and Sergej Milinković Savić. Football masters, each in their own way. Italian and British media write that the Serbian midfielder from Lazio jumped to the forefront of the Red Devils overnight after the talk about the Dutchman from Barcelona cooled down. De Jong simply does not want to leave the Camp Nou despite constant calls from Erik ten Hag to join him at Old Trafford. He respects his former teacher from Ajax, but he prefers to play in Barcelona than in Manchester United. Xavi has always been in favor of the idea of keeping him, and it remains for the club to come to an agreement with the Dutchman regarding the debt owed to him and the salary reduction.BREAKING 🚨: Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is NOT considered a back-up for Frenkie De Jong. ETH is a admirer of his box to box play, and has shortlisted him as a candidate. The final decision is up to Erik Ten Hag. He wants BOTH midfielders. #Transfers pic.twitter.com/WIP1OpbaOy— David Kent (@DavidKent_DM) July 26, 2022 And while the talk about De Jong is slowly dying down, the fire is being lit in parallel about the possible arrival of Sergej Milinković Savić. The interest of the Red Devils for the Serbian ace from Lazio is nothing new, but it is only relevant again. They seriously considered him two years ago and a year ago. Now they just renewed their interest because he passed their quality filters long ago. United already brought Christian Eriksen to boost their midfield, but after the departures of Pogba, Matic, Mata and Lingard, more reinforcements are needed. A popular ‘SMS’ would ideally fit…Osimhen shamed at training: Spalletti sends the Nigerian to an early showerIn previous years, it was often written about the interest of big clubs in the Serb from Lazio, there were also some concrete offers, but no transfer took place. Sergej informed Lazio president Lotito in May that he would like to change the club this summer if a good offer comes and that he needs a challenge in a new club and possibly a new league. It is not disputed that Lazio would like to keep him and even offer him a new contract, but that is an unlikely scenario. On that occasion, the club made a verbal promise to the Serbian representative that they would not cause him any problems if the right offer really came. So far, Sergej has been fair and honest towards the club, and Lazio wants him to remain that way in the end. It is assumed that Lotito is seeking around 70 million euros in compensation.You can do a lot when you’re a United player – but you can’t eat what you wantSergej’s contract expires in two years, which means that this is the last moment for Lotito to earn big money on a transfer. The very next summer, Sergej would enter the last year of his contract and the club would be forced to sell him for less money than they can take now. And Claudio Lotito hates losing money more than anything…money that Lazio needs this summer… They have already spent close to 40 million euros on purchases, and they will have to do more because the transfer of Ivan Ilić from Verona is being negotiated, which cannot be cheaper than 15 million. With the sales of Sergej and Luis Alberto, Lazio would finance the entire transfer window.’Come on fat boy’: The day when a Reds defender was nearly beaten by CantonaThe question is how persistent and willing United will be to pay. Yesterday’s rumors that the player’s agent Mateja Kezman flew to Rome urgently and presented United’s offer to Lotito are not true. But it is true that Kežman was in contact with the Red Devils about Milinković Savić and that the phone line always remained open. Corriere Dello Sport writes that both Arsenal and Newcastle have inquired about Sergej from Kezman in recent days. The Premier League seems like the most realistic destination for the Serbian national team player.##NAJAVA_MECA_6529099##Lazio are already thinking about a replacement for Sergej and are preparing for that scenario. The desire of coach Sarri is Zielinski from Napoli, but president De Laurentiis is asking around 40 million. Lotito will never pay that, and sporting director Igli Tare has a cheaper and more promising option: Luka Sučić from Salzburg. Lazio can wait a while, United can’t. Although coach Ten Hag is still hoping for some crazy turnaround around De Jong, the club has to think about the final solution. As the days pass, it seems more and more that Milinković Savić could be that solution.
