Another promising talent has come to the limelight in Europe and again, it is the two clubs of Manchester who are reportedly locking horns to secure his services.
This time, it is 22-year old Serbian midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic or as he likes to be called, Savic, in short. The central midfielder is an action-packed player and has a tenacious engine to keep playing 90 minutes, day in, day out. His added quality of having a keen eye for goal is, however, what sets him apart for someone his age.
With years of peak football ahead of him; it is no secret why the big clubs are chasing his signature. Since his move to Lazio in the summer of 2015, Savic has gone on to make 87 appearances for the club, scoring 14 goals and creating another 12. He will no doubt add many more as he continues to develop at Lazio.
Although United have been linked with him, the arrival of Nemanja Matic will mean that he will not be a top priority for Jose Mourinho. Moreover, his move to Manchester United will no doubt see him spending plenty of time on the bench, something he cannot afford to do at this point of his career. In Lazio, he has found a steady place in the team and staying put for at least another season might help his case as he will certainly get regular game time there.
The scene for Pep’s City is a little different. The Citizens have a host of attacking talent but lack in depth in the deeper midfield position. Yaya Toure is reaching the twilight of his career which leaves Fernandinho and injury-prone Ilkay Gundogan as the only players who can play in the holding midfield role. With Pep known to be a manager who likes to rotate his side for matches, he could do with a player of Savic’s calibre and versatility in the team.
The Citizens have scored 37 goals in 10 matches since the market shut and with Aguero returning from a freak injury, it is safe to say that City are yet to hit top gear.
Logically for the Serbian as well, it would make more sense to join the Citizens, where he would certainly be guaranteed more game time and could possibly take over the starting midfielder for Guardiola’s team in the coming years.
Even though the team is heavily armed with the likes of Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva content with just playing as substitutes, Pep is likely to rotate his squad over the next few weeks again, as he has always been known to be a manager who uses an entire squad to keep players fresh and motivated.
So where do you think Savic belongs?
