Gattuso Dreaming of Milan & Nottingham Forest Strikers but Lazio Insist on Internal Solution | OneFootball

New Lazio head coach Gennaro Gattuso is keen to sign a new centre-forward, identifying Santiago Gimenez and Lorenzo Lucca as enticing options.

The Background

This season, not a single Biancocelesti player managed to surpass the five-goal threshold, highlighting the dire need for additional firepower. Tijjani Noslin was arguably the club’s attacker, but Gattuso finds him more suited to a supporting role behind the centre-forward.

Gattuso Dreams of Bringing Santiago Gimenez to Lazio

According to Sky Sport Italian journalist Emannuele Baiocchini (via Gianlucadimarzio.com), the Calabrian manager considers Gimenez a dream signing, as he believes he has all the makings of a top-notch striker. The Mexican rose to prominence at Feyenoord before completing a €32 million transfer to Milan in January 2025.

However, the 25-year-old lost his way at San Siro, only registering seven goals and two assists in 37 matches across all competitions. The source believes Gimenez could be on his way out of Milan after 18 miserable months, even though he remains tied to the club with a contract valid until June 2029.

Lorenzo Lucca Seeking New Experience After Forest Disappointment

La Repubblica (via La Lazio Siamo Noi) also reported Gattuso’s interest in the Mexican international, while adding Lorenzo Lucca as an alternative target for the former Italian international. The well-travelled Torino youth product had cemented himself as one of the most prolific goal-scorers in Serie A during his time at Udinese, earning himself a €35 milliom move to Napoli last summer.

The gigantic Italian marksman found himself behind Rasmus Hojlund in the pecking order, so he was loaned out to Nottingham Forest in January, but he only scored a single goal in his nine appearances for the Premier League club. Therefore, the Moncalieri native will be keen to bounce back from one of the most disappointing campaigns of his career.

Lazio Tell Gattuso to Focus on Petar Ratkov

While Gattuso would like to sign either Gimenez or Lucca from his old employers, Lazio might struggle to afford either player. Hence, the newspaper reveals that the hierarchy is instead urging the manager to focus on relaunching Petar Ratkov, who was bought from RB Salzburg in January as a replacement for Taty Castellanos, but was dropped to the bench by Maurizio Sarri.

The former Lazio coach made it abundantly clear that the arrival of the 22-year-old Serbian didn’t satisfy his ambitions, claiming he had never heard of the player.