Sergej Milinkovic-Savic
More than a player, a phenomenon. For four seasons, ever since he arrived at Lazio from Genk for a mere €18m, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic has been one of the top CMs in the world in attack. His current contract extends until the end of the 2023-24 season, by which time he'll be 29. Will Lazio unable to qualify even for the knockout rounds of the Europa League, will he make a move to a bigger club?
To be sure, it hasn't been a ride without a few bumps for the Serbian star. He was excluded from the senior national side until November 2017, despite already having one incredible season at Lazio in the books. Then, once he started getting some matches, a strange series of minor injuries ruined his continuity in the setup. Yet in each of the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons, he still managed 30+ matches for Lazio – and he hasn't missed a start so far this season.
Lately he's been playing a bit deeper and has been called upon to defend more often, which has detracted ever so slightly from his attacking output. Also, while he has become one of the most aggressive defenders at CM, the extra pressure on him has lowered the quality of his defending – he may not be used to facing more difficult defending situations and is only an average tackler. But his passing is as deadly as ever, and his ball retention has improved significantly this season. He continues to be one of the most dominant CMs in the air, too. If anything, he's become more complete.
He also covers an enormous amount of ground. Last season he popped up on almost every patch of grass on the pitch (check out his smartermap if you don't believe us). He focused on the channels, though, where his range of passing was most dangerous – especially on the left. This season he's been mostly on the right, often hugging the flank. He's been particularly unpredictable near the midfield line, with an even mix of short passes, long passes, and dribbling.
Milinkovic-Savic's agent is the controversial Mateja Kezman, who knows a thing or two about the Premier League (and a bunch of other leagues around the world – a total of nine, to be exact). Maybe he doesn't want his star player following in his own peripatetic footsteps. And after all, Lazio haven't lost since September and are on track for next season's Champions League. Nevertheless, it's hard to imagine that Le Aquile will be the ceiling for the still-young Serb.
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[Photo: Эдгар Брещанов]
