The biggest threat to Scotland could be an Italian job, warns Marco Tardelli

Italian legend Marco Tardelli warns Scotland will come up against one of Serie A’s brightest talents on Thursday night.

Lazio’s attacking midfielder, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, grabbed a brace in Serbia’s impressive Play-off semi-final win against Norway last month.

Yet, while that stunned the Scandinavians, it came as no surprise to Tardelli, who was assistant to Giovanni Trapattoni when he was Republic of Ireland manager, and is currently a football analyst for RAI, Italy’s public broadcaster.

“Savic is a great player, for me one of the best Serbia have ever had,” said Tardelli.

“When he first came to Italy, he immediately adapted to our championship, and both his technical quality and his physical attributes were there for all to see.

“In the first year-and-a-half, he did very well for Lazio and, while he dropped a little after that, he has always remained a constant threat to all their opponents.

“Like all players, he has had to adjust to the very different situation we have now because of Covid-19.

“It has changed everything, and I don’t think the psychological toll it can have should be underestimated.

“At the moment, Sergej seems a bit subdued to me. But he is still one of the top players we have in the league and, as he showed against Norway, he is likely to be a danger to Scotland.”

The Italian is more encouraging on the subject of Serbia’s veteran skipper, Aleksandar Kolarov.

The 34-year-old cost Manchester City £16-million when they snapped him up from Lazio a decade ago.

However, although he is still playing at the top, with Inter Milan, Tardelli is not convinced his club action will have him as well prepared for the tie as he could be.

“The problem is that Antonio Conte is letting him play in the centre of defence at Inter,” he said. “For me, that is a position he can fill as a stop-gap – but it is not one that plays to his strengths.

“I think he is better at attacking than defending and, while he is not as quick as he was, if Conte was to use him instead as a wing-back, he could still do very well.

“But he is an exemplary professional.

“You don’t play for top teams for so many years unless you are someone who trains hard.”

Likewise, Tardelli does not see Fiorentina frontman, Dusan Vlahovic, as someone about who Steve Clarke should be overly concerned.

“Vlahovic is good player, who has decent technique and a lot of physical strength,” he said.

“At 20 years old, though, there is still room for his game to improve a lot.

“He reminds me of a flower that has yet to bloom.”

Scotland will hope he – and a few other Serbians – will wither on the vine on Thursday night.