Arsenal and Chelsea given transfer BOOST by club president

Tom Weber

• Updated: 9 Jul 2023 18:21 BST
• 3 min read

Lazio president Claudio Lotito has revealed that he 'won't force' Sergej Milinkovic-Savic to stay.

Like every transfer window, the midfielder is once again being linked with a move away from the Italian capital - but this summer seems different. With just one year left on his contract, a departure appears to be a distinct possibility as it will be Lazio's final opportunity to cash in on their star man, who reportedly has no intention of extending his deal.

The 28-year-old is supposedly being eyed by Arsenal, while Chelsea were reportedly recently offered the chance to sign him by his agent and former Blues man Mateja Kezman who is shopping his client around. Inter and Juventus are keen on the player, but there has been no significant movement regarding a potential transfer as yet.

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Lazio are said to have slapped a €40 million price tag on Milinkovic-Savic, but owner and club president Claudio Lotito has now claimed that his side don't actually need the money.

What did Lotito say?

In an extensive interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, Lotito spoke at length about Lazio's potential summer business as well as other topics like AC Milan's use of data in their recruitment of which he is not a fan.

Regarding Milinkovic-Savic's potential transfer, Lotito said: "I would not sell him, I am trying to extend his contract, but you need the will from both sides. Surely, Lazio don’t need to sell before buying and this is important."

"If somebody leaves, it’s not because we need money. Technical decisions count and I will force nobody to stay." Should the midfielder depart, the 66-year-old has a list of replacements lined up.

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“Lazio will be reinforced, this is the starting point. We’ll see functional players and have a deeper squad. We know what we have to do, we spoke about it."

“I have a list of names for each role we must cover with several alternatives. I’ll decide who we’ll sign, but there is no doubt that new players will come, as usual. I made 14 signings last season, not so few."