A continuous story for the past week or so, Dedryck Boyata to Lazio is picking up more and more pace in Italy, especially after the Celtic defender’s two performances at the World Cup so far.
Picked by Roberto Martinez to replace the injured Vincent Kompany, the 27-year-old has started both games against Panama and Tunisia, which has made him more attractive to the Serie A side.
We’ll start this round-up with Il Tempo, who explain the Belgium international remains the club’s second option to bolster their defence behind Sassuolo’s Francesco Acerbi.
The talks between the Celtic centre-back and Lazio ‘aren’t as advanced’ as they are with the 30-year-old Italian, but there’s a belief a deal wouldn’t be too hard to pull off at around €6m.
However, there’s also a chance Igli Tare, their director of football, could sign both should one of either Wallace or Bastos leave the club in the coming weeks.
Over at Il Messaggero, the message is very similar, agreeing that €6m will be enough to convince Celtic and Brendan Rodgers to sell, especially since Boyata appears disinterested in renewing his Celtic Park contract.
The Belgian has been a target for Tare for a while, having attempted to sign him two summers ago, and the Italian newspaper state a €1.5m/year contract is waiting for him in Rome should they decide to move for him. That amount will be after tax, which is how footballer wages are reported in Italy.
Since he’s currently in Russia, this one will have to wait, but it appears Lazio are warming to the idea of signing Boyata more and more.
