Manchester United’s famous academy has produced some of the world’s best talents over the course of history and one such player could be headed to their noisy neighbours if the latest reports are to be believed.
Calcio Napoli 24 have relayed a report from Tuttosport which claims Pep Guardiola is a big admirer of Vanja Milinković-Savić, currently playing for Torino in Serie A.
United fans will remember the Serbian, who had joined the Red Devils when he was only 17 but failed to earn a senior cap with David de Gea standing tall between the sticks at that point in time.
Eventually, two years after moving to Old Trafford, the goalkeeper departed for Lechia Gdansk in 2016 after work permit issues and after a series of loan spells, he has finally established himself at the Olympic Grande Torino Stadium.
Vanja Milinkovic-Savic was at United for two seasons
He has kept 10 clean sheets this term, conceding only 33 times in 30 games, and Torino are eager to try and hold on their star performer.
But City and Napoli are both vying for his services with the shot-stopper’s current deal set to expire in 2026. But Torino have a one-year option that they can trigger in order to recoup a larger fee from his sale.
His ability with his feet is what is most impressive while his impressive throw-outs to kickstart counter-attacks has also attracted attention.
“Returning to Napoli’s interest in him, one of the qualities of the Serbian goalkeeper that Conte likes most is his ability to handle the ball with his feet, his sure-footedness in passing and his ease of kicking that also allows him to cross the entire pitch, from area to area, with a throw.
City, Napoli want him
“Also in the case of Manchester City, as well as for Napoli, there have been no offers to Torino at the moment but the respective sports directors have noted the name of the Serbian goalkeeper in their notebooks.
“In the event that Napoli, Manchester City or any other teams knock on the president’s door in the coming months and present a concrete offer, it will certainly be taken into consideration, even if taking the goalkeeper away from Torino could be quite expensive.
“However, it should be taken into account that Milinkovic Savic’s contract expires in 2026, and that the Granata club has an option for an automatic renewal for a further season.”
Not too many United academy graduates have moved to the Etihad and it would be strange to see Milinković-Savić play for the Cityzens even though he did not make a senior United appearance.
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
