Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is most likely to be the next European to join the Pro League in Saudi Arabia.
Numerous top-flight teams contact the Serbian international when it became clear that he had no interest in extending his deal in the Italian city.
The midfielder has spent the last eight years at Lazio. Savic told the club in January that he would be looking for a move away from the sky-blue side of Rome. His contract will expire in June 2024. As a result, Lazio will look to secure a competitive fee in exchange for losing a bedrock of their midfield.
During his time with the club, the 28-year-old has made 341 appearances, scoring 69 goals and providing 59 assists.
Although he was previously a target for Arsenal and Liverpool, Milinkovic-Savic appears to be on his way to Saudi Arabia.
According to La Repubblica, Milinkovic-Savic is likely to accept an offer from Al-Hilal. The offer has made a series of significant transfers during the summer window.
The club, who were ruthlessly spurned by Lionel Messi when their big-money offer was rejected in favor of joining with Inter Miami, has sealed agreements for Premier League talents Kalidou Koulibaly and Ruben Neves.
The £47 million Al-Hilal paid Wolves for captain Neves was a club record transfer cost for a player. It later ended the Portugal international’s six-year stay at Molineux.
Al-Hilal are likely to offer Lazio a similar lucrative contract. The Saudi club will be paying £34 million (€40 million) to entice the midfielder away from the Serie A club.
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic to depart from European Football?
The projected value of Milinkovic-Savic’s new contract is £17 million (€20 million) a season.
According to Corriere dello Sport, Lazio is evaluating the offer and is weighing it over.
In return, Maurizio Sarri’s team will attempt to bring in Piotr Zielinski of Napoli, a midfielder who reportedly chose not to extend his contract with the Seria A champions despite having just one year remaining on it.
Al-Hilal may not have finished their summer transfer spending just yet.
The Saudi club, one of four run by the Kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, is still keen on signing Chelsea’s Lukaku.
The Belgian attacker is insistent on staying at Inter Milan, where he has spent the previous season on loan from Chelsea. The bids from the Milanese club, however, are reportedly not acceptable to Chelsea.
Lukaku was signed from the San Siro for a then-record cost of £97.5 million, and the club is anxious to recuperate at least some of their investment in the striker, who had a rocky return to the west London club before escaping on loan.
On Monday, it appears that Inter’s demand for the striker increased to more than £30 million plus add-ons.
