Celtic missed out on the chance to sign Lazio colossus Sergej Milinkovic-Savic when the Serbia international was available for only £500,000, former Hoops chief scout David Moss has told Goal.
Speaking to The Guardian four years ago, Moss admitted that during his time at Celtic the club had tried to lure Laurent Depoitre to Parkhead.
Given Depoitre would go on to score just seven goals in 63 league games – struggling in spells at FC Porto and Huddersfield Town – it’s fair to say few Celtic supporters suffered sleepless nights as the former Belgium international trudged across the John Smith’s Stadium turf.
But while Depoitre failed to rediscover the golden touch he left behind at Gent, another former Jupiler League star has seen his career move in the other direction.
Why didn’t Celtic sign Lazio star Milinkovic-Savic?
Milinkovic-Savic was far from a household name when he swapped Serbian outfit Vojvodina for KRC Genk seven years ago in a deal worth about £500,000.
Flash forward to 2021 and a 6ft 4in midfield giant nicknamed ‘The Sergeant’ is one of the best around, a £70 million Serie A superstar at Lazio.
“I was scouting people like Milinkovic-Savic at Vojvodina before he went on to do what he did,” recalls Moss, who was central to the deal that brought a young Virgil van Dijk to Celtic and is also credited for the rise of Jamal Musiala.
Clearly, Moss knows talent when he sees it.
“Genk took (Milinkovic-Savic) but I watched him three times and pushed for (Celtic to sign him). Unfortunately, when those higher up (at Celtic) watched him live, he had a rare bad game.”
Milinkovic-Savic, who has been labelled “better” than Paul Pogba by his agent Mateja Kezman, is often linked with a move to the Premier League these days.
Wolves are understood to have been turned down by the 26-year-old last summer, while he recently batted away interest from Liverpool too.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
