Juventus Interested in Swap Deal for Sergej Milinković-Savić if Paul Pogba Bid Fails
By Tom Gott
Juventus are eager to broker a swap deal for Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinković-Savić if their pursuit of Manchester United's Paul Pogba is unsuccessful.
Pogba is expected to be the subject of a serious transfer tussle this summer, with Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid all keen on signing him. However, it has been confirmed to 90min that the Frenchman's priority is to join Real.
Despite Real's interest, Pogba is still Juventus' top priority this summer, but there is an awareness that such a deal might not be possible. As a result, Calciomercato state that the Bianconeri could reignite their interest in Milinković-Savić instead.
Juventus pursued the Serbia international two years ago but found that Lazio's demands were too high. That may well be the situation again, and given the coronavirus crisis has created some real financial uncertainty, Juventus are looking for other ways to finance a deal.
Maurizio Sarri is keen on adding Brescia's Sandro Tonali and Fiorentina's Gaetano Castrovilli to his squad, meaning some of his current midfield group could be expendable.
There are no specific names mentioned, but the likes of Sami Khedira, Adrien Rabiot and Aaron Ramsey, who have all struggled for starts this season, could be on the chopping block.
Unfortunately for Juventus, Lazio have made it abundantly clear that they will not accept a swap deal and they only want a big-money offer instead.
Lazio president Claudio Lotito wants to keep Milinković-Savić to help the club push for league titles and success in the Champions League, so it would take a bid of over €100m to convince the Biancocelesti to part with their star midfielder.
That would likely be too much for Juventus. Once they have pursued their other targets, freeing up an extra €100m would only be possible if they offloaded some of their current first-team squad, but that's far easier said than done.
Lazio are under no pressure to sell - Milinković-Savić is under contract until 2024 and Lazio are on track to qualify for the Champions League - so they can stick to their guns and demand whatever figure they want, which is bad news for Juventus.