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By • Elio Salerno
(Sergej Milinković-Savic - Lazio)
Serie A has a reputation for being a highly tactical, disciplined and demanding environment; all of which is true, but it also has a number of forward thinking coaches that like to play expansive attacking football. With all these ingredients in play, Serie A is cooking up some of the best football in Europe and for a young player there is arguably no better place to learn. Italian football is becoming somewhat of a breeding ground for Europe’s brightest prospects, it has seen the likes of Alvaro Morata, Kingsley Coman, Mo Salah, Keita Baldé Diao and most notably Paul Pogba all use the league as a platform to make a big move. It is only a matter of time before another name or two is added to that talented list and Lazio’s Sergej Milinković-Savić is almost certain to be one of them.
Who is he?...
Sergej Milinković-Savic; already a familiar name in Italian football, the feeling is that sooner rather than later he will be recognised by fans across Europe and they will be hoping it is their club that move for this midfield prospect. “SMS” is now into his 3rd season with current club Lazio and has already chalked up over 75 appearances for the Biancocelesti. Over that time he has developed a reputation as potential star and it is not just Serie A’s biggest clubs that are taking note; the rest of Europe’s big guns are watching. Born in Spain, Sergej Milinković-Savić had professional sport running through his blood. His father a professional football player himself and his mother a highly regarded basketball player in the former Yugoslavia. On their return to Serbia, a young Milinković-Savić joined Vojvodina where he would rise through their academy and earn his first professional contract. His early career would bring success, representing Serbia as they won the 2013 u19 championships and then going on to win the Serbian Cup with Vojvodina during his debut season in 2013-2014. Two quick transfers followed. Genk had seen enough of the player during his first season to sign him aged 18; he would make 24 appearances in his single season with Belgian side during 2014-2015. In the summer of 2015 he would play an integral role in helping Serbia win the u20 world cup, his commanding displays would also see him collect the bronze ball award. Lazio moved quickly to sign him, paying a rumoured fee of around €18 million.
The player...
“SMS” is an imposing central midfield player, only 22 and standing at nearly 6 ft. 4 it would be easy to assume that he is simply a powerhouse that relies on his physical strength to influence games. That assessment would be very unfair on a player that has many layers to his game and is currently one of the most complete midfielders in Italy. Milinković-Savić combine’s power, technique and game intelligence; this blend of attributes means he has the capability of filling different midfield roles and more importantly play as a highly influential box to box midfield player. The defensive phase of the game is arguably where Milinković-Savić makes full use of his physical presence; In Serie A during the 2016/2017 the player won on average a huge 4.4 aerial duals per game while also contributing an average of 2.1 successful tackles and 1.1 successful interceptions per game. However, far from a defensive midfield player his offensive statistics back up the theory that he is a more than capable box to box midfield player, ending the Serie A season with 4 goals and 7 assists. If we take a deeper look into his attacking game we will also see he averaged 2 shots per game and in possession was able to contribute 1.2 key passes and 1.3 successful dribbles per game. The player’s confidence in possession draws opposition attention, winning on average 1.8 fouls per game for his team. These stats show us the range that Milinković-Savić has in his game, he is already measuring up to Serie A’s top midfield players and the likes of his cross town rival Radja Nainggolan. It is only normal the young Serbian has areas to improve if he wants to be mentioned amongst Europe’s best. Whilst his confidence and willingness to have possession under pressure is to be applauded it can be said he has a tendency to stay on the ball for too long; Last season he was dispossessed on average 2 times per game and also registered 2.5 unsuccessful touches per game. Whilst these are not significantly high numbers his awareness and decision making will need to improve if he is to compete at the top. The world’s best midfield players are all capable of averaging around the 90% pass completion mark and it is here that “SMS” must continue to improve, during the 2016-2017 season Milinković-Savić averaged 41.1 passes per game in Serie A with a success rate of 73.4%. Those figures are a slight improvement on his 2015-2016 season and although the current campaign is still young SMS is posting much improved stats in this area; averaging 54.5 passes per game with a success rate of 82.1%. This shows that SMS clearly has the scope to continue improving and building on his already impressive technical range. Mentioning these areas for improvement it should be recognised that Milinković-Savić plays in a Lazio side that favour fluid, quick, attacking football. This style of play requires playing forward quicker, hence attempting slightly longer more risky passes; in a possession based team with closer support to the ball we would certainly see his passing stats improve further. (Statistics provided by whoscored.com)
What Next for SMS?
Having recently extended his contract in April 2017 and with Lazio rumoured to have brought out former club Genk’s rights to a percentage of any future sale, President Claudio Lotito has made his stance clear; any possible sale is going to cost the buying club. The Lazio president is a notoriously difficult negotiator, according to the man himself Lazio rejected a €70m bid for the player during the latest transfer window. The player’s agent, former Chelsea striker Mateja Kezman has recently stated the player is “very happy at Lazio” with the player saying that the club will “decide his future”. “If I was a sporting director of any top European club now, the first player I would buy is Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.” Leonardo, former PSG sporting director Lazio are currently going from strength to strength under the guidance of Simone Inzaghi, playing an exciting brand of football and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is an integral part of it. With the player improving all the time, on the brink of a call up to Serbian national team and collecting precious game time domestically and in Europe, a transfer is may well be the last thing on his mind. Having said that “SMS” will be fully aware of the hype growing around him, a midfield player of his type and potential is rare. With Europe’s elite looking on the opportunity to join them in the near future would be a difficult one to turn down.
