Lazio sporting director Angelo Fabiani has told Daichi Kamada and his entourage he will not be blackmailed, with the player not seemingly on his way to Crystal Palace.
That’s according to Corriere dello Sport, who cover comments from the midfielder today after he rejected an option to extend his deal with the Italian side.
Kamada’s current deal with Lazio expires on June 30th this year and included a clause that meant it could be extended, but that expired on May 30th.
Fabiana told reporters last night that the player had refused to extend his contract and suggested he would be departing as a result but did not name where he would end up.
Crystal Palace have long been linked with a move for the Japanese international, who worked with Oliver Glasner at Eintracht Frankfurt.
The belief is that the Austrian boss is keen on a reunion as he strengthens his squad this summer and a report yesterday indicated they had already made a rich offer to the player.
Now Fabiani has come out fighting, insisting Kamada is free to leave Lazio if he wishes to as he won’t be forced into a deal he doesn’t agree with.
“When there is the wind of change, either you have solid foundations or you are swept away,” Corriere dello Sport report him saying to Lazio Style Channel.
“It is the members who are at the service of the club and not the other way around. Last year we focused on Kamada because we were looking for a player with the characteristics of Luis Alberto who had not shown up for training camp and wanted to leave annual contract to be rediscussed on May 30th.
“Yesterday (May 30th) the time for renewal expired and they asked us to propose the same conditions again, but we found ourselves faced with something unexpected great rudeness.
“I don’t let anyone blackmail me, I calmly said that I wasn’t interested in discussing this ‘extortion’. These gentlemen, agents and footballers, must understand that whoever comes to Lazio must embrace the project and love Lazio.”
