Juventus Reportedly Had Summer Transfer Agreement with Sergej Milinkovic-Savic

Juventus reportedly had a deal in place with Lazio to sign Sergej Milinkovic-Savic in the summer before they moved to buy Cristiano Ronaldo instead.

According to Kaustubh Pandey of Calciomercato, the Italian champions had initially agreed a fee with Lazio in June for the midfielder, although the capital club reassessed and asked Juve for a higher bid than the previous offer of €80 million (£72 million).

"Milinkovic-Savic was keen on a move, but Juve's new offer never came and they signed [Ronaldo]," the report added. "Weeks after the offer from Juventus and the initial agreement, Milinkovic-Savic was told that he will not be sold, and he was convinced into penning an agreement, as no offers came following that."

The Serbia international now appears set to sign a contract extension with Lazio until 2023. His annual wage will reportedly be increased to €3 million (£2.7 million) as part of the fresh terms.

While Juventus didn't spend big on Milinkovic-Savic, they did splash the cash to sign Ronaldo from Real Madrid, parting with £99 million to secure the Portuguese legend. He's yet to find the net in his three Serie A appearances for the club.

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If Milinkovic-Savic had arrived it would've been a major statement from Juventus. After all, they signed Emre Can in the summer, with the German adding depth to midfield options that already include Miralem Pjanic, Blaise Matuidi, Sami Khedira and Rodrigo Bentancur.

Even with those quality performers in his squad, Massimiliano Allegri surely would've had to find space for Milinkovic-Savic in the XI on a consistent basis, as he was arguably the best midfielder in Serie A last season. These numbers sum up what a huge influence he can have on a match:

As noted by Pandey, some of the biggest clubs in the world were linked with a move for the Lazio sensation, including Manchester United, Real Madrid and Chelsea in addition to Juventus.

Regardless of a possible new contract at the Stadio Olimpico, you sense those clubs will be keeping an eye on the development of Milinkovic-Savic again this year, as he's someone with the potential to be a world-class performer for many years.

Lazio will hope Milinkovic-Savic can help them push for a UEFA Champions League spot again in 2018-19, as they came up just short last season. 

Club president Claudio Lotito made it clear at the end of last term just how much they value their midfield maestro:

After his breakout year teams in Italy will make plans to limit Milinkovic-Savic's impact on matches, although given he has so many different attributes he is a tough man to contain.

While Juventus went abroad to bring in Ronaldo in the previous window, they have snapped up the biggest stars in Serie A in recent years, most notably Miralem Pjanic and Gonzalo Higuain. With that in mind, Milinkovic-Savic will surely remain on their radar.