Liverpool's alleged interest in Lazio sensation Sergej Milinkovic-Savic has been confirmed, and manager Jurgen Klopp could look to swoop for the imperious midfielder this summer after his value was slashed.
What's the latest on Sergej Milinkovic-Savic to Liverpool?
With just one year left on his current deal with Lazio, Milinkovic-Savic is reportedly available for just €26m (£22m), a remarkable depreciation from the €60m (£53.5m) sum that was touted in January.
The Serie A outfit's sporting director, Igli Tare, has alluded that the Serbian will depart this summer, and Calciomercato are reporting that Liverpool are indeed intrigued by the possibility of signing the 28-year-old.
Most recently, transfer insider Rudy Galetti spoke to GIVEMESPORT and confirmed that the gem is "among the names" considered at Anfield after a mass midfield exodus.
Galetti said: “Liverpool want to be competitive again in the Premier League and for this reason, one of the main targets of the next summer transfer market is to strengthen the midfield.
"And yes it's true, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is among the names in the list. His contract will expire in 2024 and Lazio, to avoid losing him as a free agent next year, will have to sell him in the summer.”
Should Liverpool sign Sergej Milinkovic-Savic?
The Premier League giants have failed in their seasonal endeavours this year quite dramatically, languishing in fifth place as the 22/23 campaign draws its curtains and consequently missing out on Champions League football for the first time in seven years.
And what an astute and possibly transformative signing Klopp could make in the form of the box-crashing, brutish Milinkovic-Savic, who, across 35 league matches this season, has averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.16 after scoring nine goals and creating three, described as a "different beast" by journalist Sacha Pisani.
Liverpool will need to sign midfielders this summer, and while Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Alexis Mac Allister's transfer to Anfield is closing on completion, the flight of James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, partnered with the slump from prominence, underlines the requirement for first-rate replacements.
This quandary is perhaps exacerbated by the recent news of Fabio Carvalho's disgruntlement on Merseyside, with Fabrizio Romano confirming that there is interest in the precocious midfielder, who started just four games in the Premier League this term.
Carvalho is still only 20 years old but is an "unbelievable" prospect, as lauded by Klopp, and ranks among the top 1% of midfielders for rate of non-penalty goals, the top 11% for progressive carries and the top 1% for touches in the attacking box per 90 throughout Europe's big five leagues, as per FBref.
Milinkovic-Savic would be an "elite" – as dubbed by David Amoyal – upgrade on the dynamic prospect and offer leadership and composure to a Reds side that has lost a wealth of it in the aforementioned departing trio.
The £99k-per-week phenom would add a bit of "magic", as he was once described by teammate Ciro Immobile, and matches up to Carvalho's skill set nicely, also ranking among the top 1% of positional peers for rate of non-penalty goals, as well as the top 8% for rate of assists and the top 12% for touches in the attacking box.
Maurizio Sarri proclaimed him to be "one of the best" footballers he has ever coached, and Klopp surely wouldn't pass up the chance to sign such a superlative upgrade on the cheap.