West Ham look set to miss out on Fiorentina defender Nikola Milenkovic to Manchester United according to highly regarded football journalist Fabrizio Romano.
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The Hammers made a £23 million bid for the Fiorentina centre-back during the summer transfer window according to a report from Gianluca Di Marzio.
Calcio Mercato suggested that the Serie A outfit were demanding closer to £35 million, however.
And it now seems as though West Ham could be left behind in the race to sign the 23-year-old centre-back.
West Ham to face Manchester United competition for Nikola Milenkovic?
Football journalist Fabrizio Romano has claimed that Manchester United have been scouting the Serbia international, when speaking on his Here We Go podcast:
“Milenkovic is not going to extend with Fiorentina. West Ham offered €25m and Fiorentina said no, they were asking for €40m in my opinion. Manchester United have always been scouting him. He has huge chances to move to England.”
Missing out on Milenkovic to Man United would be a very big blow for West Ham.
If Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has genuine plans to bring the 23-year-old defender to Old Trafford, the writing may well already be on the wall for the Hammers.
Milenkovic is a truly top class defender and will be a real asset for whichever club wins the race for his signature.
In 21 Serie A appearances for Fiorentina this season, the Serbian has scored two goals and registered one assist. In those outings, he has averaged 1.6 tackles, 1.4 interceptions, 3.2 clearances and one block per match. The 23-year-old has won an average of 3.5 aerial duals per game and has an 86.6% pass completion rate from an average of 54.6 passes per match (Who Scored).
At 23, Milenkovic is yet to each his potential. He is a really exciting player now but has the ability to go on and become great.
The Fiorentina ace would have been a great summer signing for West Ham. Manchester United’s alleged interest in the Serbia international will undoubtedly be an unwelcome inconvenience, however.
Let’s just hope that we still manage to pull this one off somehow.
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