The agent of Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic has confirmed that the Serbian international has rejected approaches from Arsenal and Newcastle.

Mateja Kezman has been speaking about the player’s future in a recent interview and, when asked about interest from the two Premier League clubs, he replied:

“Arsenal and Newcastle? To be honest Sergej and I think these options are not for him. In the future, he will want to play every season in the Champions League.”

Milinkovic-Savic is believed to be valued at around €65m (£56m) to €70m (£60m) by Lazio so the Gunners would have had to pay a sizeable sum for the 27-year-old’s services.

While it appears there was some genuine interest from Mikel Arteta’s side, the lack of Champions League football scuppered their chances of snapping up the playmaker.

Arsenal are still in the market for a midfielder. They have also been mentioned as potential suitors for Brighton’s Moises Caicedo and AC Milan’s Sandro Tonali, but Leicester’s Youri Tielemans is thought to be the top target. It remains to be seen whether a formal bid for the Belgian will be made ahead of the transfer deadline.