Who Is This Serie A Starlet Chased By Both The Manchester Clubs? Everything You Need To Know

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic – Scout Report

Italy has long been heralded as the breeding ground for players who are both tactically and technically sound. The advent of the likes of Mattia De Sciglio, Ciro Immobile, Alessandro Matri, Marco Verrati and others have ensured that the trend continues with the modern generation.

While the likes of Milan, Inter and Juventus are well-recognised for their abilities to hone young gems, other clubs like Udinese, Lazio, Hellas Verona, Atalanta and Bologna are also well-respected for their excellent academic structure. Today, we talk about a youngster who is making quite a name for himself in the Serie A and has already been tracked by both Manchester United and Manchester City: Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.

Player Profile

Born in Lleida, Spain, in February 1995, he made his first competitive appearance for Serbian club FK Vojvodina when his family shifted there. He scored 4 goals in 16 appearances and was lapped up by Belgian club Gent at the start of the 2014/15 season. Playing mostly an attacking midfielder, he netted 5 times in 24 appearances for them, thus justifying their faith in him.

All set to sign for Fiorentina the following year, the 22-year-old made a last minute change of plans and ended up signing for Lazio. He has been rapidly increasing his reputation since then and is now a well-known prospect in Europe.

Strengths

Capable of playing anywhere in midfield, Sergej is 192 cm tall and weighs around 80 kgs. His robust physique allows him to make crunching tackles every now and then. In fact, Squawka says that he averages 3 defensive actions and makes 2.1 tackles per game. He is also heavily involved with his team’s offensive output, averaging 2 shots and making 1.2 key passes per game.

Last season, he created 40 chances in the entire campaign and generally featured as an all-action box-to-box midfielder as a part of Simone Inzaghi’s setup. His dribbling skills are outstanding and he is also blessed with some good vision, which makes him the key cog in the Lazio machinery.

Weaknesses

Passing is something the Serbian starlet has to work on, quickly and tirelessly. It is the most important asset in a midfielder’s arsenal and Sergej averages only 41.1 passes per game with a disappointing completion rate of 73.4%. The other midfielders in his league, like Napoli’s Hamsik and Juventus’s Khedira are miles ahead of him in this aspect. While one can understand that the bigger clubs may see him as an unpolished jewel, he will be out of favor with them soon if he does not improve this facet of his game.

Future

The midfielder has a long way to go before he can be good enough to play in the Champions League for Europe’s elite. For now, he must stay put in Italy and keep polishing his abilities.