It’s been somewhat of an up-and-down season for Lazio so far. In Serie A, they’re currently just above the halfway mark, but their form has been patchy, to say the least. They’ve just exited the Champions League after Bayern Munich overturned a 1-0 first-leg deficit too. While the current campaign is far from done, some will be thinking ahead to next season, and what needs to change in terms of personnel and English talent could be on the agenda.
Everyone connected with Lazio, and those who follow Serie A will know that the club finished second in Italy’s top flight last season. They were runners-up to Napoli, who ran away with it in the end, and comfortably one of the top four teams in the country, as proven by any reputable football betting site online providing short odds for each fixture. So the fall from grace has been quite remarkable, and getting re-established in the top four or top five at least has to be the aim.
One way Lazio can make this happen is by re-energizing the squad and having a summer of solid recruitment. Interestingly, they were linked with English talent during the January transfer window, and that could be a path they consider going down in the coming months. And there are reasons to be positive because they could be helped in their quest to secure such talents come the summer, which would be a significant boost.
One of the first names to be linked with a switch to the Stadio Olimpico was Plymouth Agyle’s winger Morgan Whittaker. The twenty-three-year-old has been in fantastic form this season, scoring seventeen goals in thirty-six Championship games at the time of writing while weighing in with seven assists, too. A move to Lazio was mooted, but Whittaker remained at Home Park.
However, after a pretty solid start to life back in the second tier, Argyle’s recent form has been ever increasingly concerning since manager Steven Schumacher departed for Stoke, being replaced by Ian Foster. Plymouth now find themselves in danger of the drop, and if they were to be relegated, Lazio could find it a much easier task to take Whittaker at the second attempt, and for a lot less than the rumoured millions quoted.
Jobe Bellingham is another English talent who has been linked with a move to Lazio in recent times. At eighteen years old, Bellingham, younger brother of Real Madrid star Jude, has established himself as a first-team regular at Sunderland. Again, the youngster is contributing to a team that at one stage was challenging for a top-six Championship finish and the playoffs, proving he has the potential.
Again, Bellingham’s situation is one that Lazio could capitalize on this summer, as Sunderland’s form has fallen away, there continues to be turmoil at the club, and at present, after sacking Tony Mowbray and then his replacement Michael Beale, they don’t have a permanent manager. It could give Lazio the chance to make a double swoop for undoubted English talent that would certainly reinvigorate them next term.
