Photo: Chelsea target belatedly reports for pre-season amid claim of €115m swap offer

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Lazio ace Sergej Milinkovic-Savic was due to return for pre-season on Monday but after returning late amid speculation of interest from Chelsea, he has now joined up with the squad.

The 23-year-old has established himself as of the top young stars in Europe, scoring 14 goals and providing nine assists in 48 appearances for the Biancocelesti last season.

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After an impressive showing at the World Cup earlier this summer too, his stock continues to rise and given the physicality, technical quality and goal threat that he poses, he would undoubtedly strengthen any side he joins with plenty of room for improvement still remaining.

As detailed by Calciomercato, he fuelled exit talk on Monday after failing to report back for medicals to kick-start his pre-season with Lazio. However, as seen below, he returned a day later, with the report above noting that an incident on the way to the airport led to his late show.

Nevertheless, perhaps the most intriguing part of the Calciomercato report notes that Chelsea are said to have made an offer worth €115m plus Charly Musonda in a swap deal, which is reportedly not close enough to satisfying Lazio president Claudio Lotito’s demands.

In turn, it remains to be seen whether or not the Serbian ace can be prised away from the Italian capital this summer, as he’ll remain a fundamental figure in Simeone Inzaghi’s plans as they look to bounce back from the disappointment of missing out on the Champions League on the final day of last season.

It would appear as though Milinkovic-Savic is set to stay and continue to develop at Lazio, but with the report suggesting he may have a €150m price-tag, time will tell if that is satisfied before the deadline.

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