Lazio owner Claudio Lotito insists that Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is now worth over £100 million after the Serbian’s agent ruled out a move to Premier League duo Arsenal or Newcastle United, speaking to Il Messaggero.
Earlier this week, Lazio team-mate Ciro Immobile claimed that there was nothing to separate the silky Serbia international from a man often dubbed the finest midfielder in world football; Manchester City’s one-man assist factory Kevin de Bruyne.
“Trust me, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is magic. He’s on the same level of Kevin de Bruyne,” Immobile said, via Fabrizio Romano.
With 11 goals and assists in just 12 games this term, the stats certainly back up Immobile’s point. It’s fair to say Milinkovic-Savic passes the eye test too. A Rolls Royce of a footballer with a V8 engine rumbling beneath the surface. The 6ft 3ins playmaker a ballerina in a battering ram frame.
And while speculation regarding Milinkovic-Savic’s future continues to drag on, Lotito insists that anyone looking to buy would have to part with a nine-figure sum.
Agent ruled out Arsenal or Newcastle United move for Sergej Milinkovic-Savic
“I have no agreement with (agent Mateja) Kezman to sell him,” explains the outspoken Lazio chief. “To Juventus or anyone else in the winter. Indeed, he is now worth 120 million euros (£105 million); no longer 100 million. The price rises every month.”
Milinkovic-Savic was linked with both Arsenal and Newcastle during another gossip-ridden summer. Former Chelsea striker Kezman, however, wasted no time in putting an end to those rumours; insisting that his 27-year-old client would only consider leaving Lazio for a team sitting at Europe’s top table.
“Honestly, Sergej and I think that these options are not for him,” Kezman tells Corriere dello Sport when quizzed about those links with the Gunners and the Magpies.
“He wants to play Champions League football consistently in the future.”
Kezman did add that Thomas Tuchel was hoping to take Milinkovic-Savic to Chelsea; the German ‘likes the player so much’. Tuchel is gone now, however; replaced by Graham Potter at Stamford Bridge.
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