Lazio President Claims Juventus Have 'Never Asked' About Potential Sergej Milinkovic-Savic Deal

Lazio president Claudio Lotito has cooled rumours linking no-nonsense central midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic with a move to Serie A champions Juventus.

After previous clashes over transfer policy and the market, Lotito isn't overly keen to do further business with the Turin club.

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Such clashes involved those with Beppe Marotta, the former Juve CEO, and the club's current owner Andrea Agnelli.

Calciomercato report that in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, Lotito highlighted his displeasure with the way Juve go about their transfer business, stating: "I don't want to talk about money, Juventus never asked me about Milinkovic and, knowing them, they won't ask me."

He then used a deal from an earlier window to provide further insight into why the relationship between the two clubs has been hindered, adding: "Juve tried to take Keita [now at Inter] in their own way, instead I sold him for €30m at Monaco."

Lotito called Juve's pursuit of the winger 'a crime' and alleged that they offered half the amount of what competitors Milan, West Ham and Napoli all offered for the player, all of whom were turned down by the Senegal international.

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The difficulty of working with Juve won't be the only reason Lazio aren't happy to allow Milinkovic-Savic to leave. Despite a few underwhelming performances this season, the Serbian has established himself as a key part of their team and is one of the hottest prospects in world football right now.

It's not for his goals or assists, having only accumulated five and four respectively this season, but he has been attracting the attention of Europe's elite clubs. Along with Juve, Manchester United have also been linked with the big central midfielder.