Tottenham target Nikola Milenkovic has pledged his future at Fiorentina by signing a contract extension until 2023.
The Serbia international was largely linked with Spurs, Wolves and West Ham, just a year away from his previous contract.
However, with the arrival of Cristian Romero to bolster Nuno Espirito Santo’s side and the other two Premier League clubs wary of finances, talks collapsed and Milenkovic signed a one-year extension.
Head coach Vincenzo Italiano will be delighted to have secured the services of the defender for another term as it looks like his German compatriot Pezzella is set to join Real Betis.
Milenkovic joined Partizan in 2017 and racked up 133 appearances in all competitions for Fiorentina, scoring 11 goals during his four-year stay in Italy.
The 23-year-old has played the most minutes of any Viola player since his debut in December 2017 – his 11,696 minutes ahead of Pezzella’s 10,381, second.
During the same period, no Fiorentina player has made more header clearances (276), successful tackles (131) or more duels (651) than Milenkovic, who only ranks 33rd place behind Pezzella in first place for interceptions with 190.
For comparison, among Serie A defenders, only Federico Fazio (377) and Berat Djimsiti (353) have managed more aerial fights than Milenkovic (349) since arriving in Italy.
Fiorentina have managed to tie their star defensive asset together and their chairman Rocco Commisso have also underscored their desire to keep Spurs, Manchester City and Atletico Madrid targeting Dusan Vlahovic for at least one more season.
“I didn’t put Vlahovic up for sale, on the contrary, we made him an important renewal offer,” Commisso told TGR Rai Toscana on Thursday.
“There are teams that are interested in him but I haven’t set a price. I want him to stay another year.
“For the player – we remember – in the last few hours, the strong interest of Manchester City has also arrived, ready to offer more than 70 million euros for him. The pressing of Atletico Madrid, in contrast, seems weaker after last week’s contacts. “
Italiano are set to name Milenkovic and Vlahovic, who scored two goals in a 4-0 Coppa Italia first round victory over Cosenza last Friday, in his starting lineup for their Serie A opener in Rome on Sunday.
