Chelsea eye gigantic midfield upgrade and Man Utd revenge after approach involving £34m superstar

Chelsea are in contention to sign Sergej Milinkovic-Savic from Lazio, according to a report highlighting how they have arrived at the opportunity.

In the last few weeks, Chelsea have been focusing on player sales more than their own signings. When the time soon comes to change that, replenishing their midfield will likely be one of the main objectives.

After all, some of the players leaving them include Mateo Kovacic (Manchester City), N’Golo Kante (Al Ittihad), Mason Mount (Man Utd), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (AC Milan), Kai Havertz (Arsenal), Tiemoue Bakayoko (released) and Denis Zakaria (returning to Juventus after his loan spell).

TEAMtalk also understands that Carney Chukwuemeka is available for loan this summer. Indeed, as things stand, Enzo Fernandez seems to be the only midfielder who can say with any certainty that he will be at Chelsea when the new season starts.

Among the players they have been aiming to add to the department are Moises Caicedo from Brighton and Romeo Lavia from Southampton.

But a well-established option they could now turn their attention to is Milinkovic-Savic.

According to Il Tempo, a newspaper based in Rome, Chelsea are among the contenders to sign the Serbia international this summer as he enters the final year of his contract with Lazio.

Lazio are asking for €40m (£34m) in order to sell Milinkovic-Savic, who has been with them since his 2015 arrival from Genk. At a push, they might accept an offer of €30m (£25.7m) – but nothing less.

The prospect of him staying hasn’t yet been ruled out, but his agent is offering him to various clubs. That agent just so happens to be a former Chelsea player in the shape of Mateja Kezman.

Chelsea given chance to beat Man Utd to Milinkovic-Savic

Kezman is approaching several suitors, including Chelsea, whose focus is currently elsewhere but could revert to Milinkovic-Savic.

Although he has never played in the Premier League before, the 28-year-old has frequently been linked with a transfer into English football. Man Utd were major admirers for many years, while Arsenal have also been linked with him.

Only last month, Man Utd were said to have rekindled their interest in Milinkovic-Savic. Therefore, if Chelsea are receptive to Kezman’s approach, they could get revenge on Mount’s next takers by trying to beat them to Sergej.

Milinkovic-Savic, who stands at 6 ft 4 in tall, has plenty of characteristics that should translate well to a Premier League side.

Across his Lazio career, he has scored 69 goals from 341 appearances. In the season just gone, which ended with Lazio confirming Champions League football for next term – something Chelsea cannot match after only finishing 12th in the Premier League – Milinkovic-Savic got 11 goals from his 47 outings.

According to a separate report by La Gazzetta Dello Sport, Chelsea’s confidence of capturing the Spain-born star is rising, though they still prefer Caicedo and Lavia because they are younger.

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