Mourinho goes undercover to spy on Milinkovic-Savic and Milenkovic in Podgorica
The Manchester United manager was spotted taking notes during the first ever football game between Montenegro and Serbia de la historia. Two players caught his eye.
The first ever football match between Montenegro and Serbia took place in Podgorica last night with the visitors winning the game 0-2. Spotted in the stands, not very convincingly concealed under a black baskeball cap, was Manchester United manager José Mourinho sat next to Pedja Mijatovic. The Portuguese coach is in a delicate situation at Old Trafford and is working to turn the team's fortunes around. So last night, he went on a personal scouting mission to watch two players in particular.
Real Madrid keen on Milinkovic-Savic
The first is Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic - one of the most sought-after players at the moment for his great technical qualities and probably one of the easiest for a big club to convince to move away as the Rome-based outfit are not involved in the Champions League. Real Madrid compiled a scouting report on him a short while ago but got cold feet when they found out that Lazio president Lazio Claudio Lotito wanted 150 million euros for their star player.
Late sub
Mourinho needs a player like Milinkovic-Savic to get United back on track. Just last summer, United forked out for Fred (59 million), Diogo Dalot (22 million) and Lee Grant (1.70 million) and he could get Ed Woodward's back to put in a bid for the talented, 23-year-old Serbian. In his favour, the club did not bring in any of the player's Mou requested during the last window.
Milinkovic-Savic entered the pitch as a sub on 79 minutes when Serbia were already a goal up. He was only involved sporadically, but played a part in the move which led to the second goal, scored by Aleksandar Mitrovic.
Milenkovic, versatility in defence
There is another Serbia player who interests Manchester United - 21-year-old Fiorentina right-back Nikola Milenkovic. He has been a first choice at the Italian club since halfway through last season but the national team he is deployed in central defence for his towering presence (he's 6 foot 4).
The next transfer window opens in just over a couple of months' time and José Mourinho is already thinking about strengthening his team to resolve the problems they have been having since the season started.
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