Fabrizio Romano plays down Sergej Milinkovic-Savic talk
There have been rumours lately that Arsenal are in talks about a potential move for Lazio’s Sergej Milinkovic-Savic as they seek to boost their midfield ranks. However, Fabrizio Romano has shot them down.
“Despite reports to the contrary, I’m told there were no talks for Sergej Milinkovic-Savic to Arsenal in the summer,” the Italian transfer expert told Caught Offside. “We will see what happens in the future but in January it’s going to be really difficult to see him leaving Lazio.”
Currently representing his country at the World Cup in Qatar, Milinkovic-Savic played the full 90 minutes in Serbia’s tournament opener against Brazil, which the Selecao won 2-0 as Tottenham Hotspur’s Richarlison struck twice, while Arsenal duo of Gabriels, Jesus and Martinelli, entered the fray late in the second half.
Romano says he’s surprised that Milinkovic-Savic still hasn’t left Lazio, but apparently, nobody has been willing to pay the Serie A club’s asking price of €75 million for the services of the 27-year-old so far.
Having joined Lazio from Genk in 2015, he’s made a total of 314 appearances for the club, scoring 63 goals and producing 58 assists. He didn’t show much of it against Brazil, arguably the main favourites for the World Cup, but Milinkovic-Savic is a very creative player, strong and good in the air as well with his 6’3” frame. Primarily a box-to-box player, he is quite capable of playing as a ‘6’ or a ’10’ if told to do so.
Romano also confirms that Arsenal were interested in Palmeiras’ Danilo during the summer, and hints that the interest could be revived in January with the club likely to be busy on the market, hunting for a new midfielder. However, there is still no movement on that front, apparently, and it remains to be seen where Arsenal choose to go from here.
