Tottenham Hotspur are thought to be interested in signing Sergej Milinkovic-Savic from Lazio.
In recent weeks, Italian outlet Calciomercatoweb.it suggested that Spurs had entered the race to sign him before this summer’s transfer window deadline.
They claim that both manager Antonio Conte and sporting director Fabio Paratici are fans of the Serbia international and have begun to make room for him by offloading Giovani Lo Celso and Tanguy Ndombele.
Milinkovic-Savic is expected to cost in the region of €60m (£50m), as per the report.
Should Spurs move for Milinkovic-Savic?
YES!
NO!
Shades of Vidal
It’s easy to see why Conte would be so keen to bring the Lazio star to north London as he bears plenty of similarities to one of the Italian’s most used players – Arturo Vidal.
Across spells at both Juventus and more recently, Inter Milan, the Chile veteran delivered 36 goals and 21 assists across 141 appearances for Conte, via Transfermarkt, but did so without compromising his defensive capabilities.
Take the 2013/14 campaign for example – a year that saw him score a career-best of 11 goals – the midfielder averaged a whopping 4.1 tackles and 1.2 interceptions per game, as per WhoScored.
Now take Milinkovic-Savic by comparison.
In 296 appearances for the Biancocelesti, the Serb has provided 58 goals and 52 assists, including returns of 11 goals and 12 assists last season alone, via Transfermarkt.
Meanwhile, in the last three Serie A campaigns, he has averaged at least 1.6 tackles and 0.9 interceptions per game, as per WhoScored.
It’s that sort of presence that Conte is currently lacking in his Spurs engine room as none of his current options of Rodrigo Bentancur, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Oliver Skipp or Yves Bissouma hit more than two goals or five assists in 2021/22.
Perhaps it will also come as little surprise to have seen Milinkovic-Savic lauded as the “complete midfielder” by Sky Sports reporter Anton Toloui.
Such form and talent has seen his statistical profile likened to both Leon Goretzka of Bayern Munich and Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne by FBref as the Lazio star ranks inside the top 2% of all midfielders in Europe for non-penalty goals and touches in the opposition’s box.
If sporting director Fabio Paratici can secure a move for Milinkovic-Savic in the next week or so, then Conte will surely be delighted as he’d be getting a Vidal-like presence at his disposal once again.
AND in other news, Paratici could end Spurs’ summer with a bang in £50m swoop for “extraordinary talent”…
