Why Manchester United should move for this Serie A superstar if Paul Pogba leaves

Bengaluru, May 14: It has been four years since Paul Pogba made his comeback to Manchester United on a then world-record deal worth £89.3 million but he has yet to truly settle at Old Trafford.

Despite his obvious talent, the World Cup-winning midfielder has been a rather mercurial figure at Old Trafford and it seems that the Red Devils are also tired of his antics. It is believed that the 20-time English champions are ready to offload the Frenchman this summer for the right price with clubs like Juventus, Real Madrid and Inter Milan keen to sign him.

Replacing what he was supposed to bring to the Manchester United midfield would be a commendable task for the Red Devils but they do have a ready-made solution who can prove to be the player Pogba could never become at Old Trafford. We are talking about Lazio midfield general Sergej Milinković-Savić here who has become a much-coveted player in recent years with Manchester United being one of his many long-term admirers.

Pogba is regarded as one of the best midfielders of this generation thanks to his all-round abilities. He is truly a complete midfielder but has not done much justice to his talent at Manchester United. Sergej Milinković-Savić has often been compared to Pogba due to his similarities with the Frenchman in many aspects.

They both boast a big frame of 6 ft 3 in offering a lot of aerial presence in the middle of the park. They are both incredibly gifted technically and have a lot of flair which is not commonplace in big players.

Since his move to Lazio from Belgian giants Genk as a skinny tall teenager, Milinković-Savić has genuinely transformed as a midfielder in every department. He is incredibly versatile which allows him to be effective in any midfield role.

For Simone Inzaghi's title-chasing Lazio side, he has mostly featured as a box to box midfielder this season but is also effective as an attacking midfielder or even as a defensive midfielder. He enjoys himself the most in the "mezzala" role though as his style of play has been compared by pundits to that of iconic players such as Zinedine Zidane and Yaya Touré.

Sergej Milinković-Savić is a unique midfielder with a blend of the traditional attacking movement, precision and finishing of an attacking midfielder, physique and frame of a defensive midfielder. He is incredibly either-footed and is one of the best players in Serie A in terms of aerial ability. He can make intelligent late runs into the box and can shoot from distance as well.

Technically and tactically, the Serbian international is truly gifted. His passing, be it long or short, is also pretty good. He is quite industrious as well and offers a lot to the team both defensively as well as offensively. Despite his lack of pace, he makes up for it with his unbound tenacity. The Serb is also very much a team player which is evident from the way he has coped with change in his role in the Lazio side over the years.

Aged 25 now, it seems to be the right time for Sergej Milinković-Savić to make his move to a bigger club and the Lazio management have also conceded it lately. With Pogba set to his on his way out of the club at this time, it would be an absolute no-brainer for Manchester United to raid Lazio for the tailor-made replacement of the Frenchman.