Lazio are trying to steal a march on city rivals Roma for highly-rated Italian midfielder Lorenzo Pellegrini. According to lalaziosiamonoi.it, the biancocelesti used yesterday’s 2-1 home win over the neroverdi to make initial contact with the club about the 20-year-old former Roma youth player.
 

Pellegrini was dispatched by the giallorossi to Sassuolo for €2 million in 2015 but are thought to have first refusal should they decide to bring him back to the club for a fee of around €11 million. Now their city rivals have entered the race to capture one of Italian football’s rising stars who has had an excellent start to the new campaign.  

Born in the Eternal City, Pellegrini’s impressive displays at youth level elevated him into the first-team at Roma where he made just one appearance. Sassuolo, a club renowned themselves for nurturing top-class young talent, took him away from his home city where his growth has been remarkable. There could now be another Rome derby in January to bring him back to the capital.


Steve Mitchell @barafundler