Arsenal have reportedly set their sights on a serious upgrade to their central midfield this summer. It is well documented that the transfer priorities for Mikel Arteta lie in the middle third in addition to the striker role.
Arsenal though looked to be prioritising a move for Youri Tielemans with the Leicester City midfielder available for a cut-price deal with his contract going into its final year. However, reports suggest that the Gunners might be aiming even higher up the midfielder hierarchy this summer.
According to Italian outlet Corriere Dello Sport, Arsenal are supposedly willing to pay in the region of €60m (£51.3m) to land Serbian international Sergej Milinkovic-Savic. The Lazio stalwart has been with the Serie A side since 2015 and become known as one of the best players in his position in Italy.
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Were Arsenal to sign Sergej Milinkovic-Savic they would have got their hands on one of the most sought-after players in his position. Links to Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Juventus have been frequent but no club has been willing to match the Rome-based club’s asking price.
The 27-year-old has two years remaining on his deal which perhaps means the price tag is lower than previous demands from Lazio. Furthermore, Lucas Torreira has been linked with a potential switch to Lazio that could allow for Arsenal to sweeten their offer according to Tutto Mercato.
Milinkovic-Savic finished last season with 11 goals and 11 assists. He is considered one of the best all-around players and the stats in both directions support this. With Tielemans fitting a similar box-to-box role at Leicester with a slight skew towards the offensive traits, it wouldn’t make sense for the Gunners to pursue both.
The report does say the Lazio man has so far rejected approaches from Premier League sides, for now, such as Arsenal and Newcastle United. Perhaps this is the reason why Arsenal continue to push for Tielemans as an alternative.
However, with that said, should the chance to sign Milinkovic-Savic present itself, the Gunners would be fools not to try. He would represent the upgrade and world-class addition the squad has been crying out for.
