The agent of Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic has confirmed that his client will remain at the club this summer, baring any late miracles. The Serbian international has been linked with Juventus and Manchester United in recent weeks but offers have failed to materialise.
Speaking to Il Corriere dello Sport, agent Mateja Kezman confirmed the future of his client and responded to the transfer speculation:
If no miracles happen in these last 3 days, he (Milinkovic-Savic) will stay at Lazio. Time will tell. This summer, no one was ready to pay what Lotito asked for him, so I don’t think the situation will change.
January? Nobody knows. It depends on the World Cup, anything is possible.
There are only a few days left in the transfer market, and there is no time to discuss the contract renewal. We have a lot of time ahead, there is the World Cup. The future will be for talks.It’s not easy to please Lotito, after Sergej’s great season, I was 100% convinced that a club would come with an offer. But due to Covid and the war, the situation has changed. The Italian clubs cannot afford him now.
Clubs from abroad show great interest, but when they understand how much money is needed, this becomes a problem.
Sergej and I talk every day. He has been informed of everything, he understands the situation and is motivated to continue his life in Lazio. He knows that one day he will live a new adventure, he deserves to try it.
The price? I often speak with Lotito, he understands us, but we understand him too. Sometimes I get angry about his decisions. He invested, helped Sergej together with Tare and Inzaghi to become one of the best.
Lotito was talking about €100m and if you look at how Sergej plays, maybe he was right. But Lazio didn’t win big trophies in Europe, so I say €100m is too much. I repeat, he is the boss. The player has a top contract, we respect it.
United? Sergej arouses a lot of interest. There have been a lot of talks in the past and recently, but things didn’t happen for many reasons.
Chelsea? Tuchel likes the player a lot, but he needed a central midfielder.
Arsenal and Newcastle? To be honest Sergej and I think these options are not for him. In the future, he will want to play every season in the Champions League.
Juventus? Everyone at Juve loves the player. I’ve talked about it very often in the past. But the reality, right now, is that the ‘Sergej project’ is too expensive for them. They were clear and correct.
Milan? The same goes for Milan. Pioli loves the player, everyone in the club. I have great respect for Maldini, first as a player and now as a manager, an honest and straightforward person.
When he Sergej close to leaving? After the first season we received the best offer from an Italian club, I’m not saying the name. Three years ago a top English club was very interested, two years ago another Italian club.
Lotito has always shown a great desire to keep him, to make the fans and coaches happy.”
