Agent says Newcastle have ‘offered’ £35m for Sergej Milinkovic-Savic

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Newcastle United could be set to battle Arsenal and West Ham for Serbian midfielder, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic who has been hailed as “the best midfielder in Italy”.

Agent has “collected offers” for Milinkovic-Savic

Former Chelsea striker, Mateja Kezman is now the agent of Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and according to Calciomercato, has claimed that Newcastle, Arsenal and West Ham have all offered £35m for Milinkovic-Savic who currently plays for Serie A side, Lazio.

When an agent comes out saying he has “collected offers”, you’d be wise to take the report with a pinch of salt, but Milinkovic-Savic is a name that keeps popping up alongside that of Newcastle United, so it’s one worth keeping an eye on.

Nicknamed “The Sergeant”, Milinkovic-Savic was once hailed as the “best midfield player in Italy” by Paul Merson, but according to Calciomercato, his form has dropped since the post-World Cup restart, citing injuries as one of the stumbling blocks for him regaining his form.

Milinkovic-Savic has just turned 28 and is almost certain to leave Lazio in the summer and with 12 goal contributions in 22 games this season – and that’s apparently him out of form – there’ll be no shortage of options. “The Sergeant” managed 11 goals and 11 assists in Serie A last season from midfield, which is certainly the type of numbers Newcastle should be looking for given our recent goal drought.

No smoke without fire

Whether he’s someone that Eddie Howe will see as the type of addition he wants in the summer is unknown as he keeps his cards very close to his chest, but there’s no smoke without fire and this certainly isn’t the first, or likely the last time we’ll see Milinkovic-Savic’s name mentioned.

The bigger question is: can we tempt him to join us over Arsenal? Even if they don’t manage to finish top of the pile this season, the feeling is that this is just the start of Arsenal as things are finally starting to click for Mikel Arteta, and unless something goes insanely wrong, they’re pretty much guaranteed Champions League football next season, something Newcastle may not achieve.

The project at Newcastle is arguably more exciting, but it’s just whether players are willing to be part of a project or are looking for immediate success.