We 'signed' Sergej Milinkovic-Savic for Man United and he was the perfect De Jong alternative

Manchester United are considering a move for Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic this summer, with Erik ten Hag looking to bolster his squad.

A long-term target of Man United, Milinkovic-Savic could move away from Lazio this summer, having spent seven years with the Italian club. Manchester Evening News understands that United are now weighing up a €68million (£57.5m) bid for the Serbian international, with their pursuit of Barcelona's Frenkie De Jong having made little to no progress over the last few weeks.

After failing to sign a central midfielder last summer and only bringing in Christian Eriksen this transfer window, Ten Hag has little depth in his midfield. Another target for United this summer has been Juventus' Adrien Rabiot, with a fee having been agreed for the France international.

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So, if United were to sign Milinkovic-Savic, could he help solve Ten Hag's midfield issues? Let's take a look.

To set up this simulation, we used the Football Manager 2022 editor to arrange for the Serbian midfielder to join United at the start of the Premier League season, using FM22 to run the simulation. We also updated United's squad with the latest transfers.

As expected, Milinkovic-Savic slotted straight into the United XI, with the Serbian starting in either a double-pivot in midfield or the centre of a 4-3-3. Over the course of the season, Milinkovic-Savic made 46 appearances in all competitions, all of them starts.

Included in those 46 games were 33 Premier League appearances, with only Bruno Fernandes and David De Gea making more appearances than the 27-year-old. Milinkovic-Savic managed 10 goals and seven assists in the 46 games, averaging a rating of 7.39.

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