The 6ft 3 powerhouse, who has started 24 Serie A games for the capital club this campaign, is reportedly at the centre of interest from a host of top clubs including City – but PSG and Real are apparently the most likely to secure his signature.
Indeed, PSG sporting director Leonardo has already made a €60 million offer, but the supposed bid wasn’t enough in Lazio’s eyes – potentially gifting the Sky Blues a chance to register their own intent.
However, Lens are said to be the only team to have made a formal offer so far. The French side reportedly tabled a €3m (£2.7m) bid for the 6ft 3 defender, which falls short of Troyes’ €4.5m (£4m) valuation.
With negotiations having stalled, it does leave the door open for the Old Firm clubs to make their move for the 23-year-old.
It is claimed that Gers boss Steven Gerrard has already registered his interest in Kouyate but it is said that Celtic are more likely to firm up their interest with a bid.
With the Light Blues having four centre-backs in the squad, that is not surprising, and a move for the Malian will likely only be considered if either Nikola Katic or Connor Goldson departs this summer.
Drawing comparisons with City legend Yaya Toure in the past, Milinkovic-Savic towers over the majority of his opponents in midfield – winning 3.6 aerial duels per game on average according to WhoScored.
These numbers eclipse those of Pep Guardiola’s entire squad, with our statistically most potent aerial threat John Stones winning 3.1 per 90 by comparison.
