2022/23 Serie A runners up Lazio are looking forward to Champions League football again; and maybe it’s their turn to have a tilt at the Scudetto.
After a period of Juventus domination, four different clubs have won the title over the past four campaigns. Last season it was Napoli’s turn and the Serie A 2023 betting odds say it’s a wide open field for next season… so why not Lazio?
Head coach Maurizio Sarri has some strengthening to do and the likelihood of Sergej-Milinkovic Savic leaving means he will be looking for reinforcements in midfield. And Lazio president Claudio Lotito has been reported to be planning to contact Napoli with a view to targeting their midfield general Piotr Zielinski. Sarri is a fan of the classy Pole, who has been a mainstay at Napoli, right back to when the Lazio boss was his head coach in Naples, and they worked together at Empoli prior to that.
I Biancoceleste have also been linked with Chelsea midfielder Jorginho, though it seems the player may prefer a permanent move to Arsenal rather that a return to Serie A, so, if Zielinski proves too hard to land, Sarri may turn his attention to Sassuolo midfielder Davide Frattesi. The 23 year old is widely admired and Lazio would face competition from Inter Milan and Juventus for his signature, though he would be a like-for-like replacement for Milinkovic-Savic.
In turn, Juventus are keen on the taking the commanding Serb to Turin and that might help clear a path for left back Luca Pellegrini to return to Lazio. The highly rated 24 year old was loaned by the Old Lady to Eintracht Frankfurt last summer, but the loan switched to Lazio where Pellegrini thrived. He is valued at around 20m Euros but he could be used as part exchange if the 40m Euro rated Milinkovic-Savic goes the other way.
A little further up the pitch Lazio are looking for a right winger and they are closing in on a deal for Sassuolo’s Azzurri star Domenico Berardi. He’s been one of the most productive providers in Serie A in recent seasons and starred for Italy at the 2021 European Championships, and reports suggest that a deal to move the 28 year old to Rome is very close. Sarri sees Berardi as a vital recruit for the oncoming Champions League campaign and it is time the player showed what he can do among the elite clubs of Europe. Berardi has reportedly agreed terms on a four year deal and the clubs are trying to smooth the transaction through with Sassuolo’s price at around 20m Euros plus add-ons.
On the other flank 30-year-old Luis Alberto will be back in the team after the news came that the Spaniard is ready to sign a renewed contract at the club after receiving an improved offer. Alberto had a superb campaign last year and, at 30 years old, is in his prime; so Sarri is keen to tie this deal down.
In the centre of the pitch, Matias Vecino is likely to be the first pick. The Uruguayan arrived at Lazio on a three-year deal last summer and he adds more solidity and experience to a midfield, which is certainly not short of creative flair. Up front, captain and talisman Ciro Immobile will be looking for a fifth Capocannoniere, last winning in 2022. And he was a little too quiet for his own liking last year, finishing with 12 goals. Immobile may have a new partner if Arkadiusz Milik doesn’t secure another loan agreement at Juventus. The Polish forward has now become a serious target for Lazio and he was another of Sarri’s players at Napoli, so there may be another reunion on the cards.
At the other end of the pitch Ivan Provedal is the last line of defence behind a settled back four, which may well start as it ended the 2022/23 campaign if Pellegrini makes his hoped for return. Albanian Elseid Hysaj is a shoe in at right back and Nicolo Casale works well at centre back alongside the commanding Alessio Romagnoli.
Here at SBOTOP, we’ll be back with more Serie A news and transfer rumours as the summer unfolds but, in the meantime, here’s how the Lazio team might well line up on the opening day of the 2023/24 campaign.
1: Ivan Provedal – Goalkeeper
2: Elseid Hysaj – Right back
3: Luca Pellegrini – Left back
4: Alessio Romagnoli – Centre back
5: Nicolo Casale – Centre back
6: Piotr Zielinski – Centre midfield
7: Domenico Berardi – Right wing
8: Matias Vecino – Centre midfield
9: Arkadiusz Milik – Striker
10: Ciro Immobile – Striker
11: Luis Alberto – Left wing
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