Football News : Arsenal preparing a bid for Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic

According to rumours in Italy, Arsenal is prepared to make a new offer for Lazio player Sergej Milinkovic-Savic after their original offer was rejected.

The attacking midfielder for Serbia, who plays for Lazio, was in excellent form again last season, with 11 goals and 11 assists in 37 Serie A appearances.

Milinkovic-Savic scored 58 goals in 294 games across all competitions for the Biancocelesti after moving to Lazio from Genk in 2015.

The 27-year-old has been widely linked with a move to Manchester United and numerous other elite clubs in Europe over the past few years.

Fabio Vieira of Porto is the first new midfielder that Mikel Arteta has added this summer. Gabriel Jesus, Marquinhos, and Matt Turner have already joined.

However, the Spaniard is eager to add another midfielder to Arsenal's squad to cover any potential injuries as they compete in both the Premier League and Europe next season. Youri Tielemans of Leicester City has also been mentioned as a target.

And now Italian tabloid Il Messaggero (via The Metro) claims that the Gunners are preparing a new offer to test Lazio's commitment after having their initial €55 million (£47 million) offer for Milinkovic-Savic rejected.

With Maurizio Sarri unlikely to obstruct the midfielder's sale, it is believed that the Rome-based Serie A team will sell if any club offers their €65 million (£55.8 million) asking price for their prized asset.

With two years remaining on his contract, Milinkovic-purchase Savic's might allow Sarri to bolster other parts of his team.

The Sun quotes Il Messaggero as saying that Lazio turned down Arsenal's initial bid of €55 million (£47.2 million) for the Serbian international. The reason revealed was that the club president Claudio Lotito wanted at least €65 million (£55.8 million) for the midfielder.

According to the source, Arsenal is still in "continuous touch" with Milinkovic-agent Savic's MatejaKezman. Moreover, the Gunners ntends to submit a second bid, although they are hesitant to match Lazio's asking price at the moment.
Meanwhile, Maurizio Sarri, the head coach of Lazio, is rumoured to have offered Milinkovic-Savic to his old team Chelsea. But he is willing to do that deal in exchange for Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Emerson Palmieri.

Thus, as per the current situation it looks like Arsenal are in more need of Milinkovic-Savic as compared to Chelsea in order to strengthen their mid-line.

However, Fabrizio Romano, a reputable transfer specialist, believes a deal for Milinkovic-Savic for Arsenal this summer would be "difficult" because Lazio's asking price is higher than Il Messaggero's.

Speaking on the Que Golazo podcast, Romano said:

"I see some of these names mentioned. Milinkovic-Savic is always mentioned in the Italian press, but Lazio want €75-80million (£68.7million) for Milinkovic-Savic, so it is a really complicated one.

"I am sure that Tielemans is a good opportunity because he is out of contract next summer.

"He is not extending his Leicester contract, so this is why Arsenal are exploring that possibility more than Milinkovic-Savic today."