Fiorentina will listen to offers for West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur target Nikola Milenkovic if the defender has not signed a new contract by Christmas, according to Calciomercato.
With Watford loanee Craig Dawson very much a short-term solution to a long-standing problem, the Hammers are likely to continue their search for a top-quality centre-half into the New Year.
David Moyes’ side had a £20 million bid rejected for Milenkovic before the October transfer deadline passed but, heading into January, the Serbia international’s future appears more uncertain than ever (Mail).
Fiorentina will demand far more than £20 million even with an expiring contract causing headaches at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.
Milenkovic, whose no-nonsense, uncompromising style has also caught the eye of Jose Mourinho’s Spurs (Calciomercato), is valued in the region of £35 million.
And unless the 23-year-old puts pen to paper on a new long-term contract by the festive period, his future will have been effectively decided.
Calciomercato report that Fiorentina will sell next year in order to avoid losing one of their key players for free in 2022.
£35 million may be a little rich for a player who will be a free agent in the near future. But, if Tottenham and West Ham decide to play the waiting game, they could be in luck.
Fiorentina will soon have little choice but to accept a reduced fee for a man known in his native Serbia as the ‘new Nemanja Vidic’.
The power is not exactly in their hands.
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