‘We will sell’: Director gives West Ham hope over £20m target

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Serie A outfit Fiorentina will sell Nikola Milenkovic next year if the West Ham United target refuses to sign a new contract, sporting director Daniele Prade has told SempreInter.

The list of centre-halves who slipped through David Moyes’ grasp during a testing transfer window is long and varied.

The Hammers failed with three bids for Burnley’s England international James Tarkowski, while Wesley Fofana joined Premier League rivals Leicester City instead. Meanwhile, the fee and wages for Bayer Leverkusen’s Jonathan Tah proved too much.

And, according to the Daily Mail last week, the London giants also saw a £20 million bid for Serbia international Milenkovic turned down.

However, with less than two years left on his contract at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, Fiorentina’s sporting director has just given West Ham hope a deal can be revisited in 2021.

“Both Nikola Milenkovic and (fellow centre-back) German Pezzella would’ve left for the right offer, but that never arrived,” Prade said.

“We will try to renew Milenkovic’s contract and, if he doesn’t accept, we will sell next year.”

An uncompromising defender who strikes fear into the heart of opposition forwards with his 6ft 5in frame, Milenkovic has unsurprisingly been compared to perhaps the finest Serbian footballer of the 21st century.

In fact, his own international boss Mladen Krstajic coined his “new Nemanja Vidic” nickname a few years ago (Reuters).

If Milenkovic can emulate the impact of the Manchester United legend in England, he will be worth every penny for West Ham.