Lazio ‘to keep’ Matteo Cancellieri as deadline exit ruled out | OneFootball

Lazio are set to keep Matteo Cancellieri beyond the deadline, with a late departure now considered off the table.

Gianluca Di Marzio reports that the club have rejected approaches from Parma and Fiorentina and opted to retain the 24-year-old at Formello, aligning with Gennaro Gattuso’s preference to keep him for technical reasons.

Cancellieri had been strongly linked with an exit this summer. He has started all three of Lazio’s official games this season, but could drop to the bench once Gustav Isaksen is fully fit, and he has 10 months left on his deal.

Over the weekend he turned down a proposal from Genoa, while Parma made an enquiry on Monday. Talk of a swap with Fiorentina involving Albert Gudmundsson was aired on Monday evening, but the move was viewed as unlikely.

Gattuso was unconvinced by alternatives, with Isak Bjerkebo, Montader Madjed and Dennis Man on a shortlist. Gudmundsson, mostly a second striker or attacking midfielder, was not seen as a fit for the current 4-3-3.

After Sunday’s win over Genoa, Gattuso signalled he wanted the squad largely intact. Even so, Boulaye Dia is completing a transfer to Stade Rennais, with Yanis Begraoui potentially arriving to replace him.

Petar Ratkov is also on his way out after agreeing to join Levante, while the futures of Alessio Romagnoli, Manuel Lazzari and Luca Pellegrini remain unclear.

Source: The Laziali

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