Arsenal, Newcastle, West Ham target Milinkovic-Savic tells Lazio he doesn’t want free transfer

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Mateja Kezman has told Claudio Lotito that Sergej Milinkovic-Savic does not want to leave Lazio in any free transfer. The midfielder is a target of Arsenal, Newcastle and West Ham.

That is according to Calciomercato, which reports that there is an increasing expectancy of Milinkovic-Savic leaving Lazio come this summer. The 28-year-old is keen to take on a new challenge after eight years in Rome. He will also enter the final year of his contract in July.

Milinkovic-Savic’s yearning for a fresh adventure has seen Lazio struggle to forge firm talks about a potential new contract. I Biancocelesti president Lotito last tried to start talks with Kezman in January, during which the agent reiterated the Serbian’s view on a free transfer.

Arsenal are rivalling Newcastle and West Ham for Milinkovic-Savic’s transfer

Kezman reassured Lotito that Milinkovic-Savic does not want to see Lazio miss out on a fee for him next year. But the Stadio Olimpico natives will demand €45m (£40m) for any move. Juventus are also keeping tabs on him in case their outgoing transfers raise enough funds.

Lazio’s asking price is unlikely to be a stumbling block for Arsenal, Newcastle or West Ham as they all target Milinkovic-Savic’s transfer. Calciomercato also recently reported that the Premier League rivals have assured Kezman that they are prepared to spend €40m (£35m).

Milinkovic-Savic also wants to sign for Arsenal, per Corriere dello Sport, despite waving off Mikel Arteta’s advances last year. But The Sun claims the Serbian is West Ham’s top target to replace Declan Rice with the England international tipped to leave the London Stadium.

Lazio will lose the heartbeat of their team if, or when, Milinkovic-Savic leaves

Lazio will lose the heartbeat of their team if, or when, Milinkovic-Savic eventually quits the Stadio Olimpico amid interest from Arsenal, Newcastle and West Ham in sealing a transfer.

The 28-year-old, whom CFR Cluj manager Dan Petrescu called ‘wonderful’ in February, has six goals and eight assists in 33 games so far this season. His efforts have taken the 39-cap operator to 64 goals and 59 assists for Lazio. He has featured 327 times in all competitions.