Italian capital club Lazio are reportedly in talks to sign Spanish left-back Alejandro Grimaldo from Benfica in the Portuguese top flight this summer. This is according to the latest reports from the Portuguese media. It was stated that Lazio want to sign the Benfica defender who has previously been linked to the Spanish La Liga duo of Atletico Madrid and Barcelona.
Lazio lost manager Simone Inzaghi to Italian Serie A rivals Inter Milan earlier this summer and have since replaced him with a more experienced manager in Maurizio Sarri who has managed clubs like Chelsea and Napoli.
Inzaghi did very well as the Lazio manager winning the Coppa Italia and the Super Coppa titles in addition to leading the club back to the Champions League last season. For Sarri, he would be an instant hit with the Lazio fans if he can get to the heights reached by Inzaghi or even surpass it.
Lazio are interested in Grimaldo as pointed out earlier but the finance to secure his transfer might be a problem. The Spanish player has a release clause of €60m in his contract at Benfica though it has been suggested that Lazio can get him for just one-third of the release clause. €20m would be enough to sign him. Lazio have already initiated talks for the left-back in the face of strong competition from Spanish clubs namely Barcelona and Atletico Madrid.
Grimaldo, 25, scored twice in 31 league outings for Benfica in the Portuguese league last season and also contributed ten assists.