Reported West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur target Nikola Milenkovic is on his way out of Fiorentina after deciding not to renew his contract, as reported by Calciomercato.
La Viola director Daniel Prade made the situation painfully clear when discussing the future of his highly-rated Serbia international a few weeks ago.
“We will try to renew Milenkovic’s contract,” Prade explained, via Sempre Inter. “And if he doesn’t accept, we will sell him next year.”
Well, at least Fiorentina know where they stand now.
The £35 million centre-back might be one of the key players in a consistently underperforming team but, with his current contract expiring in 2022, the Florence-based outfit are under no illusions that they must sell as soon as possible before Milenkovic’s market value starts to decrease.
Tottenham were linked via Calciomercato recently, with the 23-year-old exactly the kind of uncompromising central defender who tends to steal Mourinho’s heart.
Milenkovic, a potential long-term successor for the excellent but ageing Toby Alderweireld, is not nicknamed ‘the new Nemanja Vidic’ for nothing.
West Ham made a £20 million bid before the summer transfer window closed and it would be little surprise if David Moyes’s in-form side returned to the table in January.
30-year-old Watford loanee Craig Dawson, who did arrive in October, is obviously more of a short-term stop gap than a long-term solution after all.
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