Why Manchester United have missed a trick by not signing Milinkovic-Savic
Manchester United have not made the best of starts to their campaign this time out and the Red Devils have looked inconsistent in their displays. Jose Mourinho’s men are currently outside the top-six and have already fallen behind in the race for a top-4 finish. United have failed to impress this season despite bringing in new signings in the off-season.
The Old Trafford club were linked with a move for Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic in the summer but nothing eventually materialised. According to the Sun, Lazio are now set to offer Savic a new lucrative offer that will keep him at the club until 2023.
With the player set to commit his future at Lazio, it is safe to say that United have definitely missed out on a huge signing. The Serbian was also attracting interest from Real Madrid, having enjoyed a superb campaign with both club and country last season The 23-year-old was also brilliant for his country at the World Cup.
Savic plays as a central attacking midfielder, one that is very similar to Pogba’s role at Manchester United. But he also possesses a wide variety of abilities that would have definitely bolstered the Red Devils’ midfield.
He is an exceptional player on the ball and is an able contributor in both the defence and the attack. Milinkovic-Savic possesses a wide range of passing as well, a quality not a lot of United players have apart from Paul Pogba.
The Serie A star is a versatile midfielder who is capable of flourishing in a number of roles and systems. The Serbian is often deployed as a central attacking midfielder but is also capable of sitting right in front of the defence as a deep-lying holding midfielder. Savic is also comfortable playing as a box-to-box midfielder.
He has averaged a pass success rate of 79.% the Serie A this season while also averaging at least 2.5 shots per game. His defensive work rate is massive and his cohesion in the middle of the park is immaculate. (Stats Courtesy – Whoscored)
Manchester United have definitely missed a trick by not doing everything they could to snap up the sought-after midfielder. Sergej Milinkovic-Savic will surely be a huge asset to any club he plays for and is certainly set for a bright future. The Red Devils will surely rue missing out on him in the summer.