After accelerating their pursuits of Alvaro Morata from Atletico Madrid and Yossouf Fofana, the Rossoneri club has decided to place their bets on Strahinja Pavlovic, a defender for Red Bull Salzburg and the Serbian National Team. The defensive difficulties exposed last season, with as many as 69 goals conceded throughout the season, have necessitated a reinforcement that can bring the physicality and aggression that were missing, as these were characteristics that the predominantly quick defenders with great one-on-one skills in open field lacked.
The love at first sight occurred in a Salzburg-Milan match on September 6, 2022, during the Champions League group stage. The Rossoneri were captivated by both Okafor's and Pavlovic's talents. The former has been with the Rossoneri for twelve months already, and the latter hopes to join him in this summer transfer window.
After closely following him through their scouting team, Moncada initiated the first official contacts with Salzburg. Pavlovic is highly favored because he perfectly fits the desired profile: left-footed, great physical structure at 194 centimetres, and excellent potential for improvement. Strahinja is ready for Serie A after nearly joining Lazio in 2019.
The initial contacts with Salzburg revealed the Austrian club's conditions for Pavlovic's transfer: they are open to selling him but only under certain conditions, with a demand of 20 million euros.
The Rossoneri club is currently studying the best offer to present in the coming hours. The 23-year-old Serbian defender is undoubtedly the primary target to reinforce a department that might say goodbye to Thiaw in the coming weeks, given the strong pressure from Newcastle and other English clubs.
Source: Calciomercato.com
