Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is undoubtedly one of the finest midfielders in Europe on his day.
In fact, the Serbia international’s recent form in Serie A has even seen him compared to Manchester City midfield maestro Kevin De Bruyne by his teammate Ciro Immobile.
We’ve seen a fair few transfer rumours down the years about Milinkovic-Savic possibly being on the move to the Premier League or other big clubs around Europe, and yet, somehow, Lazio have managed to keep hold of him.
Writing in his exclusive CaughtOffside column via Substack, Fabrizio Romano admits he’s surprised no one has been willing to pay Lazio’s €75million asking price for Milinkovic-Savic, even if he personally doesn’t think he’s quite at the level of Man City playmaker De Bruyne.
“Lazio striker Ciro Immobile paid his teammate Sergej Milinkovic-Savic the ultimate compliment by comparing him to Kevin De Bruyne,” Romano wrote.
“Following four goals and seven assists in his first twelve games of the season, Immobile commented: ‘Trust me, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is magic. He’s on the same level of Kevin De Bruyne.’
“Personally, I think De Bruyne is on another level. Milinkovic-Savic is a fantastic player and I love watching him play, but, honestly, I’m not sure anyone truly compares to De Bruyne’s level right now.
“Still, I am surprised that no European club have met Lazio’s conditions for their star player; Italian clubs always wanted him but the €75m price tag was considered too high.”
Will we see Milinkovic-Savic move next summer? There are surely plenty of clubs who’d benefit from bringing in the 27-year-old, and €75m doesn’t even look an unfair price!
€75 mil doesn’t look much because it isn’t. He is worth 100 easily.