Arsenal are said to be ‘willing to do anything’ to sign Lazio captain Sergej Milinkovic-Savic after failing to secure his signature in the summer.
The Gunners were knocked back in their attempts to sign the midfielder during the transfer window after failing to reach Lazio’s valuation of the player, who has been one of the standouts in his position across Europe in recent years following his move to Italy in 2015.
The 27-year-old remains a transfer target of Mikel Arteta’s and the Gunners are now prepared to go all out with a player-plus-cash offer in the hope of securing Milinkovic-Savic’s signature, as other clubs continue to circle.
According to Italian outlet Calciomercato, Arsenal are preparing to offer £52m-plus midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga in exchange for Milinkovic-Savic in an all-or-nothing deal ahead of the January transfer window.
Back in the summer, the same publication reported that ‘exploratory contacts’ had taken place between the two sides for the player, although Arsenal pulled out of a deal after technical director Edu was left stunned by Lazio’s £60m-£68m valuation of the 27-year-old.
The Gunners were of the belief that a lesser sum of around £45m-£50m would have been enough to sign their target, and now they are offering slightly higher than that, plus Sambi Lokonga, as they plan on one last decisive swoop for the influential playmaker.
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Arsenal weren’t the only side looking to sign Milinkovic-Savic over the summer, with Premier League rivals Manchester United also rumoured to be interested in the Serbian international as an alternative to Barcelona ’s Frenkie de Jong, while Liverpool and Juventus remain keen.
The 27-year-old, who has 62 goals and 58 assists in 309 appearances across all competitions for Lazio since 2015 ( transfermarkt ), including four goals and seven assists in the current campaign, will also be watched by a number of clubs when he turns out for Serbia at the World Cup next month.
But in order to give themselves an advantage in the race for his signature, the Gunners are willing to sacrifice Sambi Lokonga as part of the deal, despite the 21-year-old signing for around £18m last year.
However, the Belgian struggled to make a real impact during his first campaign in north London last season, making just 12 starts in the Premier League and totalling 24 appearances across all competitions.
Just two starts have come in the current campaign as he finds himself behind first choice midfield duo Thomas Partey and Granit Xhaka in the pecking order, meaning he could be willing to kickstart his career elsewhere if Lazio agree for him to be part of the deal.
But Lazio chief Claudio Lotito claimed he wanted clubs to pay no less than £105m for their star midfielder and told Il Messaggero that the Serbian's price tag would rise every month between now and January in a bid to deter any potential suitors.
