Another promising talent has come into 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. The central midfielder is an action-packed player and has a tenacious engine to keep playing for all of 90 minutes, day in and day out. His added quality of having a keen eye for goal is what makes him a key figure in his current club Lazio. 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 89 appearances for the club, scoring 14 goals and creating another 13. He will, undoubtedly, add more as he continues to develop his game in the near future.
Although Manchester United have been linked with him, the arrival of Nemanja Matic will mean that Savic might not get to star in the starting line-up. It would mean his move to Old Trafford might bear no significant result for him and make him spend plenty of time on the bench, something he cannot afford to do at this point in his career. Moreover, in Lazio, he has found a steady place in the team and staying put for at least another season might help his case.
The situation at Manchester City will however, be different. Pep’s side has an incredible arsenal of attacking talent but there is lack of depth in the midfield. 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. It is widely known that Guardiola is a manager who likes to rotate his side for matches and he could do with a player of Savic’s calibre and versatility in the team.
Logically for the Serbian as well, it would not be the worst decision to join the Citizens, who are in imperious form this season and he might get good game time under Pep. He could possibly take over the position of the main man in the central midfield in the coming years as well.
However, City will have to battle hard against the likes of Manchester United in England and Juventus in Europe who are also actively following the development of the player. The major factor in City’s favour would be that so much interest in a player would result in an inflated price tag on him, something unlikely to scare the owners of the Etihad Stadium.
