The Laziali
·1 September 2026
Lazio Set to Miss Out on Nigerian & Moroccan Forwards

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Yahoo sportsThe Laziali
·1 September 2026

Despite making deadline-day attempts, Lazio have seemingly failed to recruit Philip Otele and Yanis Begraoui.
The Biancocelesti have shipped off Boulaye Dia to Stade Rennais and Petar Ratkov to Levante, so they were expected to sign a new centre-forward to support Andrea Pinamonti, who arrived in Formello last week.
On Monday night, the most reliable sources in the Italian press all identified Begraoui as the favourite to join Gennaro Gattuso’s camp. The 25-year-old is a two-footed Moroccan striker who boasts impressive scoring charts in his first two years at Estoril. He bagged 20 goals in the Portuguese top flight last season.
But according to Italian journalist Damiano Er Faina, Estoril have turned down Lazio’s offer for Begraoui. The Aquile were reportedly trying to sign the French-Moroccan on an initial loan deal with an obligation to buy for an overall package of €12 million.
Instead, the Italian capital club ended up acquiring the services of Albert Gudmundsson, who has already arrived at Formello. The 29-year-old’s transfer from Fiorentina will be made official in the coming hours.
In addition to Begraoui, Lazio also missed out on Otele. The 27-year-old Nigerian would have been a natural understudy for Mattia Zaccagni. But as reported by British journalist Ben Jacobs, FC Basel have already used all of their loan spots.
Therefore, the only way for the Biancocelesti to sign Otele is on a permanent basis, which remains an unlikely solution given the club’s delicate transfer budget.







































