Who is Sergej Milinkovic-Savic? Manchester United asked to pay at least £100m by Lazio for midfielder

Manchester United are on the lookout for a star to replace veteran Michael Carrick who is retiring at the end of the current football season. The former England ace switched from Tottenham Hotspur to United in 2006 for a fee close to £18 million but comparing it with the current standards of the transfer market, that fee would be somewhere in around at least £60 million.

The transfer fees for Neymar, Ousmane Dembele, Philippe Coutinho, Paul Pogba and even Virgil van Dijk have changed the landscape of the transfer market of late.

Therefore, there is no surprise why Manchester United are being demanded at least £100 million, according to The Sun, to acquire the signature of a midfielder, who has the traits of becoming the next Michael Carrick.

Serbian midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic possesses quite a similar style of play as that of Nemanja Matic, but that doesn't stop Mourinho from asking the club to make the 22-year-old Lazio star their top priority.

Real Madrid and Paris St Germain are also in the race to win the signature of Savic.

The 22-year-old, who won the Supercoppa Italiana with Lazio last year, is also aware that some of the big clubs from Europe are chasing him and he can only be flattered.

"It's nice when people are talking about me," Milinkovic-Savic told La Gazzetta dello Sport, as reported by Daily Mail. "But I don't place too much importance on these things. I'm happy at Lazio and am feeling good here for now, but then we will have to see."

Who is Sergej Milinkovic-Savic?

The 22-year-old versatile central midfielder has been turning attention since joining Lazio in the summer of 2015. The box-to-box midfielder uses his physique to impose authority on the team. Standing in at 1.92 m, Savic draws comparison with Roma ace Radja Nainggolan, who is much shorter than him but has a similar style of play.

Milinkovic-Savic's aerial duels, desire to take long shots on goal, playing clever through balls and also going deep to assist the defense are seen as some of the major highlights of his game.

His current contract with Lazio is until June 30, 2022.

In all competitions (as on February 27) this season, Milinkovic-Savic has scored a total of 11 goals and assisted six times from 33 matches for Lazio.

A winner of the Fifa U-20 World Cup with Serbia in 2015, Milinkovic-Savic has made two appearances so far with the Serbia senior football team.

With Paul Pogba's future at Manchester United coming under major speculation of late, Milinkovic-Savic could turn out to be a perfect partner for compatriot Matic at the heart of Manchester United's midfield and also a possible replacement for Carrick.

The English midfield maestro has meanwhile mentioned that it is Scott McTominay who has the potential to be his successor at United.