Lazio’s Stefan de Vrij looks set to move on this summer.
Lazio sporting director Igli Tare has told Sport Mediaset that the club have ended their attempts to tie Stefan de Vrij down to a new contract this season.
The Italian side swooped to sign De Vrij from Feyenoord back in the summer of 2014, and the Dutch international centre back has become one of the top defenders in Europe even after a major knee injury.
The problem for Lazio is that De Vrij’s contract expires this summer, and they have been struggling to agree a new deal with the centre back, who is now set for a move away.
Before facing Verona on Monday evening, Lazio’s sporting director Igli Tare told Sport Mediaset that the club are withdrawing their contract offer, and whilst they appreciate what De Vrij has done, the two parties will go their separate ways this summer.
“We are withdrawing our proposal for renewal, we retire from the negotiation table,” said Tare. “We thank De Vrij for what he did with us and for what he will do until June, then our paths will be divided,” he added.
Tare’s revelation will be of interest to a host of clubs, and many teams should now be planning to offer De Vrij pre-contract agreements in an attempt to win the race to sign him for free.
One team linked with De Vrij is Everton, given that the Liverpool Echo reported that director of football Steve Walsh is a huge fan of the defender, and even put his name forward to manager Sam Allardyce.
A January bid didn’t materialise, but Everton may now be tempted to make a move given that De Vrij is now available for nothing, and the Toffees’ defensive problems mean that another centre back may be targeted.
With no transfer fee, Everton can afford to give De Vrij a huge wage packet, and the 26-year-old’s displays in Italy suggest that he could be the man to provide stability to Everton’s back line.
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