If the latest reports emerging from Italy are to believed, our hopes of signing Valentino Lazaro appear to be fading fast.
In the last few moments, both Gazzetta dello Sport and Corriere dello Sport report that the Inter Milan wing-back’s preference is to join RB Leipzig – not Newcastle United.
The reports claim he has happy memories of his time in Germany and wants to relive them – with him struggling in Italy a year on from his big money move from Hertha Berlin.
They also suggest his move to Leipzig could now be ‘imminent’, with Sky Italia also claiming that representatives from the Bundesliga side have now flown into Germany to hold further talks.
Several Italian outlets reported over the weekend that we’d ‘agreed’ a £1.7m loan fee that included an option to buy for £17m, and things looked to be progressing well when his agent (Max Hagmayr) was spotted at St James’ Park on Saturday.
That said, Hagmayr have since been spotted in talks with RB Leipzig chiefs, and it seems like the 23-year-old is set to pick them after the Bundesliga leaders hijacked our attempts to sign him.
Have we missed out? It looks that way, but the Italian media have been wrong before..
If his agent is playing silly burgers and using us to up the price then we need to walk away and let everybody know we’ve walked away.
Archie Brand(Quote)