Liverpool
Premier League • England
Liverpool transfers: Klopp readies blockbuster move for Serie A dynamo despite reporter dropping inconvenient demand bombshell
Liverpool have reportedly identified Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic as one of their alternative midfield targets for the summer transfer window.
Midfield reinforcements are required at Anfield due to Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Arthur Melo and James Milner nearing the ends of their contracts. However, Liverpool have recently ended their pursuit of Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham.
The asking price to sign the England international was too high, prompting Liverpool to look at alternatives. Earlier, TEAMtalk identified five cheaper alternatives to Bellingham that Liverpool should be looking at.
But they might have an even longer list of potential targets for the midfield position. According to Italian reporter Rudy Galetti, another name under consideration is Milinkovic-Savic.
The Serbia international is about to enter the final year of his contract with Lazio. Therefore, the Serie A side might have to finally cash in on him this summer.
His situation has led to plenty of links with a transfer to Arsenal. However, it appears that Liverpool are in contention to bring him to the Premier League as well.
Writing for Tribal Football, Galetti has listed Milinkovic-Savic as being among Liverpool’s alternatives to Bellingham and their new priority, Chelsea’s Mason Mount.
But while other sources have indicated that Lazio might set a reasonable price for their coveted star, Galetti has issued a warning that it may still take an ‘astronomical’ offer to convince them to sell him.
Milinkovic-Savic has been at Lazio since 2015 and has attracted plenty of interest in the time since. However, the Rome-based outfit have regularly stood firm by setting high asking prices for him.
Evidently, that may remain the case, since Galetti says that Lazio president Claudio Lotito would have ‘no intention’ of selling the dynamic 28-year-old otherwise.
Liverpool might struggle to compete for Milinkovic-Savic
Having stepped aside from their pursuit of Bellingham because of his price tag, Lazio’s potential stance regarding Milinkovic-Savic appears to be inconvenient for Liverpool.
Furthermore, the rival interest from Arsenal – who are in a much healthier position in the Premier League table at present, mathematically guaranteed to finish above Klopp’s side – might be more appealing to the Spanish-born star.
Milinkovic-Savic has made 39 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring eight goals and providing the same number of assists. His overall record for Lazio includes 66 goals and 59 assists from 333 appearances.
Other than Milinkovic-Savic and Mount, the reporter has named West Ham captain Declan Rice and Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo as alternatives that Liverpool could snap up.
However, other sources have already hinted that their pursuit of the latter may be over due to similar reasons to the Bellingham saga.
Between now and when the transfer window opens, Liverpool will have to make some careful calculations about which players they can bring in to bolster their midfield.