Arsenal have been dealt a blow as it has emerged that Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is not for sale for anything less than £105m this January, and that the price will continue to rise every month.
The midfielder has been in incredibly impressive form for Lazio, who currently sit third in Serie A. The 27-year-old has grabbed three goals and seven assists in 11 Serie A outings for the Roman outfit, along with having an assist to his name across four Europa League outings.
And, as per Italian outlet Calcio Mercato, the Gunners have been impressed by the form of Milinkovic-Savic, and are now ”willing to do anything” to sign the Serbian midfielder in the coming months, with Mohamed Elneny currently out injured and reinforcements behind starting duo Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey looking somewhat thin.
The report adds that the Gunners are ready to offer up young midfielder Sambi Lokonga in addition to a sum of up to 60m euros in order to tempt Lazio into selling their star man.
However, Lazio President Claudio Lodito has poured cold water on any attempts to take Milinkovic-Savic to north London, instead claiming that he will offer him a new deal in the Italian capital instead.
“I’m not gonna sell Sergej, it’s not in my plans. I will offer him a new long-term deal”, Lotito told the media.
Savic has been the centre of long-term speculation surrounding a potential move to the Premier League, with Manchester United regularly linked with the Serbian in previous summers and Arsenal now also reportedly interested.
Both clubs would have to smash their current transfer records to bring him to England, however.
