Manchester United Warned of 'Long Summer' in Sergej Milinkovic-Savic Chase

Lazio legend Stefano Mauri has warned clubs interested in landing midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic that it will not be easy this summer, amid persistent rumours linking the Serbian with Manchester United. 

Mauri and Ousmane Dabo, another former Lazio player, talked about the rising star during an interview with L'Equipe (h/t Sport Witness' Tom Coast). After comparing the midfielder to Paul Pogba, the discussion eventually went to Milinkovic-Savic's future, and Mauri made it clear clubs won't have it easy dealing with Lazio owner Claudio Lotito.

He said: "I don't know if he's ready to sell. If you offer him €50 million, he wants €100 million. If you offer him €200 million, he wants €300 million. The summer will be long."

Marco Rosi/Getty Images

Milinkovic-Savic has been linked with just about every top club in Europe of late, and his agent has done a fine job talking up interest in his client, per Tuttomercatoweb (h/t Football Italia).

As noted by Coast, Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho is said to be a big fan of the 23-year-old, who has all of the physical tools the tactician loves. Whoscored.com lists him at over 6'2", but despite that great size, he has nimble feet and excellent quickness.

The former Genk man has a complete skill set, and the comparisons to Pogba are easy to see. Similar to the Frenchman in his final seasons with Juventus, he spends most of his time playing behind the main forward, dominating in midfield and contributing in front of goal.

As shared by sports writer Ryan Baldi, his numbers show his versatility:

He bagged a brace during the weekend in the 3-0 win over Sassuolo:

While Milinkovic-Savic is a capable defender―mostly thanks to his great size―his value lies in his attacking talents, which include scoring and holding the ball up to create space for his team-mates.

While it's easy to see why Mourinho would be interested in the midfielder, his fit at Old Trafford is a major question mark. Milinkovic-Savic is almost a copy of Pogba―the two occupy the same spaces on the pitch and need the ball to go through them to be effective.

MIGUEL MEDINA/Getty Images

Playing the two alongside each other would negate their biggest strengths and create something of a vacuum behind them―while they're both capable defenders, their work rate on the defensive end isn't elite, and they would need a fantastic holding midfielder behind them to pick up the slack.

The two would give the Red Devils one of the most physically gifted midfield duos the Premier League has ever seen, but from a tactical perspective, they seem virtually incompatible. Add to that the fact Lazio will undoubtedly hold out for a massive transfer fee, and this deal would have immense potential to flop.