EPL: Man United’s new top target outperforms Frenkie de Jong in several areas

For what seems like the tenth consecutive summer, Manchester United are being linked with a move for Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.

With their pursuit of Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong – the player wanted by new manager Erik ten Hag above all others this summer – seemingly stalling, the Old Trafford club have been forced to look at alternatives.

Reports in Spain suggest that De Jong would only leave Barcelona for United’s Premier League rivals Chelsea.

United and Barcelona agreed a transfer fee of £71.5million for De Jong, a player Ten Hag considers fundamental to the style of football he wants to play.

But the Holland international is reluctant to swap Barcelona for Manchester despite his current club’s urgency to offload him and ease their financial crisis.

Reports suggest he has concerns about the way United are run and would only have eyes for Chelsea if he came to England.

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic is reportedly once again on Manchester United’s radar as they seek to fill a gaping void in midfield ahead of the new season

Barcelona’s Frenkie de Jong is United’s first choice but is reluctant to come to Old Trafford and reportedly would rather sign for Chelsea in the Premier League

New United manager Erik ten Hag made clear he wanted De Jong as his No 1 priority signing

They say all roads lead to Rome and, as a result, United could well be about to return for Milinkovic-Savic, the 27-year-old box-to-box midfielder who Lazio are requesting almost £60m for.

And as Ten Hag seeks to solve a midfield muddle that proved beyond at least three of his predecessors, Milinkovic-Savic could well prove an excellent alternative to De Jong.

The stats from the last three seasons – the time De Jong has been playing in a top European league with Barcelona after joining from Ajax – show the Serbian has the edge in several key departments.

How Frenkie de Jong and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic compare over the last three seasons

De Jong went on Barcelona’s pre-season tour to the United States and is eager to stay

In all competitions, the pair have played roughly the same number of games (De Jong 140; Milinkovic-Savic 131) and the numbers make for interesting reading.

Milinkovic-Savic most definitely has the edge when it comes to pushing forward. He has scored 27 times to De Jong’s 13, has fired off substantially more shots and provided more assists (27 to 15).

Serbia international Milinkovic-Savic has licence at Lazio to push forward and score goals

In terms of chance creation, Milinkovic-Savic has set up 171 compared to De Jong’s 149, and the Lazio man has got into the opposition penalty area on far more occasions.

Both occupy a central midfield role in the majority of games but it all comes down to the licence afforded them.

A box-to-box midfielder, Milinkovic-Savic may have to adapt to a more defensive role at United

At the Stadio Olimpico, Milinkovic-Savic was trusted by Simone Inzaghi and his successor Maurizio Sarri to push forward out of midfield and threaten the opposition penalty box at every opportunity.

There was usually a holding midfielder stationed behind him to allow this though it didn’t mean Milinkovic-Savic shirked his defensive responsibilities.

With Barcelona and De Jong it was more a question of maintaining and rotating the ball. So passes could just as easily be sideways as forwards – De Jong played 236 passes into the opposition box in those three years to Milinkovic-Savic’s 462 (almost four a game).

Probably because a lot of those passes were safer as Barcelona sought to dominate possession in their time-honoured manner, De Jong’s passing accuracy is far higher.

De Jong understands clearly what Ten Hag demands of his teams from their days at Ajax

But that 91.77 per cent record of the ball finding its intended target – which holds pretty steady at 90.57 per cent in the opposition half – is certainly mighty impressive and would help United overcome last season’s sloppiness.

Milinkovic-Savic’s passing stats aren’t as good but he would probably more often attempt a ball with a lower probability of coming off and further up the field.

Just as pertinent given United’s intentions for whichever player they sign, Milinkovic-Savic has a better record at tackling, intercepting the ball and recovering possession than De Jong does.

You must add the caveat that Milinkovic-Savic was long settled into the Lazio team (he signed in 2015) before these three seasons, whereas De Jong had to adapt to new team-mates, albeit at a club with a similar philosophy to Ajax.

However, you cannot deny that from that substantial sample size, Milinkovic-Savic’s numbers in Serie A are pretty impressive.

De Jong’s time with Barcelona has been fairly so-so and he hasn’t scaled the heights many expected. Xavi is not beating down Joan Laporta’s office door to question why they want him sold.

But that doesn’t mean Milinkovic-Savic is the perfect fit for United. They aren’t looking for a midfielder who can thread a cute pass that splits a defence or someone who pops up regularly to score goals.

They already have Bruno Fernandes and have just signed Christian Eriksen for such purposes. They are searching for more of a defensive midfielder who can shield a back line that was worryingly brittle last season.

Under Ten Hag’s playing style, someone who does willingly drive forward from deep midfield to support the forward line could be useful, so long as he has the energy to get back if United lose the ball.

Read Also: JUST-IN: Ronaldo still wants to leave Man United after showdown talks

But the main purpose will be to act as the link between defence and attack, taking the ball out and getting the team moving up the field.

Milinkovic-Savic would offer plenty and is no doubt adaptable to a deeper role but there’s a reason why De Jong is Ten Hag’s No 1 choice for what is a very specific purpose.

However, if he De Jong was to stay at Barcelona or come to Chelsea and United do sign Milinkovic-Savic, it would hardly be the end of the world.