Leicester City 'make enquiry' over AC Milan centre-back after £17m transfer rejected
Leicester City’s transfer hunt has seen them make an enquiry over AC Milan centre-back Strahinja Pavlovic, according to reports in Italy.
City and German side Stuttgart have asked for details about the 23-year-old Serbia international, Gazzetta dello Sport say, ahead of his expected exit from the San Siro this month. Pavlovic only signed for Milan in the summer, joining from RB Salzburg in a £15m switch, but has not been a regular.
He’s been an unused substitute for the past seven Serie A matches having seemingly fallen to fourth choice in Milan’s centre-back pecking order, behind Malick Thiaw, Matteo Gabbia and England international Fikayo Tomori. However, injury problems did see him start in Milan’s 1-0 Champions League win over Girona on Wednesday night, and he was praised for his performance, Gazzetta awarding him a 7/10, writing: “He sent a good signal. He was concrete and focused, and didn’t make any mistakes.”
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His potential exit is perhaps linked to his style of play. New Milan manager Sergio Conceicao has said Pavlovic is aggressive in the way he defends, stepping out of the back-line, and that’s not to his preference.
Speaking earlier this week, Conceicao said of Pavlovic: “It’s not his fault if he hasn’t played yet, he trained well, also with incredible desire. Sometimes however he comes out of position and I don’t like that much.”
Despite being just 23, Pavlovic has already played in five different countries since leaving Partizan Belgrade in Serbia, representing Monaco, Cercle Brugge, Basel, Salzburg and now Milan, and so he’s clearly not afraid to venture to new places. However, the reports in Italy say he has rejected a switch to Fenerbahce already this month in a deal that would have been worth more than €20m (£17m), which may be out of City’s price range.
At 6ft 4in, Pavlovic has an impressive physique for a centre-back. He’s also left-footed, which would give Ruud van Nistelrooy an option he doesn’t currently have at the heart of his defence.
City have so far only signed a right-back in Woyo Coulibaly, but a centre-back, a winger, and possibly a striker are wanted over the final week-and-a-half of the window. City’s deals are likely to be dependent on getting players out of the door, such as Tom Cannon and Odsonne Edouard.
