Opinion: Erik ten Hag could be on the verge of making huge £61m transfer mistake
Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag allegedly wants to bring Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic to Old Trafford in the summer transfer window.
Then Calcio Mercato backed up those claims by suggesting that Ten Hag is indeed keen to prise the Serbia international away from Lazio this summer. However, there is a very big caveat. The Serie A giants allegedly want at least €70 million (£61 million) for the 27-year-old.
Now, Milinkovic-Savic is a very good midfielder. It must be said though, £61 million is an awful lot of money to be splashing out on a player who is totally unproven in the Premier League.
It could be argued that the Lazio star wouldn’t have much sell-on value either, considering the fact that he will be 28 just after the turn of the year.
The Serbian ace is a very good footballer indeed. He would surely improve Manchester United for the next couple of years but when he’s on the wrong side of 30, Ten Hag will be in exactly the same position as he is now.
We’re just not sure that he would be worth the £61 million that Lazio are asking for him. If the Italians wanted, let’s say £40 million, it would be a different story entirely.
Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag could be on the verge of making huge Sergej Milinkovic-Savic mistake
If Ten Hag presses on with his interest in the Lazio ace, we believe that it would be a poor decision from the Manchester United boss, certainly from a financial perspective.
There is certainly a lot better value for money to be had out there in the market this summer.
For example, the Man United boss could look at the likes of Lille ace Amadou Onana, PSV star Ibrahim Sangaré and Sporting Lisbon midfielder Matheus Nunes.
The three players mentioned above are 20, 24 and 23 respectively and it could be argued that they’re all easily as good as Milinkovic-Savic, if not better.
One thing’s for sure – they would all be a lot cheaper. Onana is up for grabs for around £35 million (HLN), Sangare will cost £31 million (Daily Mail) and Nunes is up for grabs for roughly £43 million (Correio da Manha (print edition July 22nd, page 11).
It’s easy to see how any of those three players would be better options for United, certainly from a long-term point of view.
Erik ten Hag signing Sergej Milinkovic-Savic reeks of transfer moves over the last 10 years at Old Trafford. Panic buy has followed panic buy without any thought going into the footballing philosophy of the manger, nor the financial side of the deals.
Man United need to be clever in the transfer market this summer. And the signing of Milinkovic-Savic just doesn’t make much sense from either a financial or footballing perspective.
That’s not to say that he isn’t a good player because he most definitely is. Lazio are asking for far too much money though, considering his age and the fact that he has just two years remaining on his current deal.
Manchester United would actually be better off waiting until next year to sign him for a bargain fee or even two year’s time when he’ll be available on a free transfer if he doesn’t agree terms on a new deal with Lazio.
Read also: Man United reportedly could deal blow to Chelsea by signing £21 million right-back.
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