Bringing in Nemanja Matic to bolster his midfield over the summer, José Mourinho addressed a key part of his Manchester United squad by signing the Chelsea defensive midfielder.
Despite this, it appears the Special One was keen on more than just the Serbian this summer, keeping an eye on one of his compatriots in Lazio’s Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
The 22-year-old was apparently a target for the Manchester United manager back in April, as per a report from Il Tempo, but bringing him in would have cost around €60-70m.
That was pretty much it, yet it appears the interest was genuine, as explained by the player’s agent, former Chelsea forward Mateja Kezman, speaking to Radio CRC and relayed by Calciomercato.
He said: “There was some strong pressure already this summer from clubs like Madrid, Manchester and Milan, but the kid wanted to be happy and play to continue to grow and become one of the best in the world in his position.
“For now, it’s difficult to think of a future elsewhere than Lazio, who have started very well, but I cannot rule out that he could go at the end of the season.”
Interestingly, the agent didn’t specify which Manchester club was after his client, even if, around the world, ‘Manchester’ on its own tends to mean Manchester United, with Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City usually referred to as ‘City’.
It’s not inconceivable that the Spaniard would be interested in bringing the young midfielder to the Etihad in the foreseeable future, but with all the options already at his disposal in his squad, he would have struggled to fit him in this season.
Next year, however, when Yaya Touré likely leaves Manchester City, things could be different.
