Sinisa Mihajlovic believes Adem Ljajic is on his way to becoming a great player – even if he continues to ignore him for the Serbian national side.
Sinisa Mihajlovic believes Adem Ljajic is on his way to becoming a great player – even if he continues to ignore him for the Serbian national side.
The forward’s future is in doubt given that his contract at Fiorentina” data-scaytid=”5″>Fiorentina is set to expire next year and Milan have made an initial bid for his services.
“Milan's Adriano Galliani can sniff out a bargain,” Mihajlovic, who also bossed the youngster in Florence, told the Gazzetta dello Sport. “It would be a fine deal if he got hold of him.
“I know Adem well, he started playing regularly under me. He’s grown a lot since then, he now scores a lot of goals, he’s complete and versatile.
“He is turning into a great player. If I was making the decisions at Fiorentina then I would make financial sacrifices to keep him.
“They did that with Stevan Jovetic when the time came to renew his contract, they can do the same with him.”
The 21-year-old also played under the orders of Mihajlovic for his country – until he refused to sing the national anthem ahead of a game against Spain in May 2012.
“The reason why I don’t call him up anymore has nothing to do with his talent,” the former Roma, Lazio, Sampdoria and Inter player noted.
“When I arrived I set up some rules of behaviour and one of them was to sing the national anthem. It may seem silly, but it is important for me.
“We’ve spoken about it and he told me that he doesn’t feel he can sing it for ethical and religious reasons. I understand that, but I’m sticking to my stance.”