Manchester United receive boost in hunt for Nikola Milenkovic

Bengaluru, May 8: Serie A champions Juventus have reportedly ended their pursuit of Nikola Milenkovic, opening the door for Manchester United to make their move.

The Fiorentina ace, who can play in the heart of defence or at right-back, is valued at around £43million. And Juventus have decided not to pursue a summer switch after some poor recent performances.

The 21-year-old Serbian international joined Fiorentina from Partizan Belgrade in 2017 and has been a first-team regular for two seasons. He has played 47 Serie A matches and enjoys a growing reputation in Italy as a solid defender.

Milenkovic has played a similar number of matches at centre-back and full-back, with his versatility a huge bonus.

Old Trafford chiefs think the 12-cap star could be the man to sure up Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's leaky defence. But they could face competition from Atletico Madrid, who are also in the hunt for the 6ft 5inches man-mountain.

Solskjaer began his Old Trafford reign looking to remove the negativity of Jose Mourinho's final months. But after initially defending his players to the hilt, he has begun to publicly criticise his flops.

After the 1-1 draw with Huddersfield, Solskjaer moaned: "I can’t talk about individuals now but there’s a chance you’ve seen the last of players anyway.

"There’s always a chance it’s a last time but I wouldn’t say that about any individual now, I don’t think that’s fair.

"Today wasn’t one individual that was disappointing, it was the whole team."

And there could be a major reshuffle on the cards over the summer as the new boss looks to stamp his authority on the club.

A host of big names have been linked with the Red Devils but bringing them might prove difficult without Champions League football.