Maurizio Sarri instructs Chelsea to rival Manchester United and Real Madrid for transfer of £132m-rated star

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New Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri is reportedly keen for the club to pursue the transfer of Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic this summer.

The Italian tactician was announced as Antonio Conte’s replacement as Blues boss this week and has already brought Jorginho with him from Napoli.

In a further plan to bolster Chelsea’s midfield, Sarri is keen for the west Londoners to sign the exciting Milinkovic-Savic in that position as well, according to Corriere dello Sport, as translated by Calciomercato.

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Chelsea desperately need top quality in midfield after poor recent signings such as Tiemoue Bakayoko, Danny Drinkwater and Ross Barkley all failed to make an impact at Stamford Bridge last season.

Bringing in Milinkovic-Savic and Jorginho to play alongside N’Golo Kante could go some way to turning Chelsea into a force again as they look to rebuild under Sarri.

This could be bad news for Manchester United, however, as Don Balon recently claimed they were in for the 23-year-old with the £132million asking price.

Chelsea the latest club to be linked with the Sergej Milinkovic-Savic transfer
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is wanted by Maurizio Sarri, who knows Serie A well after joining Chelsea from Napoli

The Red Devils lost Michael Carrick to retirement this summer and need to make changes after Paul Pogba’s struggles in Jose Mourinho’s system.

Real Madrid were also mentioned as being in the running for Milinkovic-Savic in that Don Balon piece, and they could certainly benefit from landing the Serbian as a long-term replacement for the ageing Luka Modric, while Toni Kroos wasn’t quite at peak form last season.

More Stories Maurizio Sarri Sergej Milinkovic-Savic