AC Milan captain Alessio Romagnoli should turn down a move to the Premier League with Fulham and stay in Serie A, former Lazio midfielder Massimo Bonanni tells Tuttomercatoweb.
It seems that Romagnoli is of a similar mindset.
Fulham offered the Italy international a £65,000-a-week contract (£3.5m-a-year) at Craven Cottage in June (TMW). That proposal has been put on ice for the time being, however, with a man who skippered AC Milan to their first Scudetto title in over a decade waiting to see if his boyhood club are willing match Fulham’s offer.
So far, however, Lazio have stumped up just £45,000-a-week for Romagnoli; A centre-back who made his name at their bitter rivals AS Roma.
Will Alessio Romagnoli choose Fulham or Lazio?
“He’s a good defender. I don’t really understand what he wants to do. He always said he’s a Lazio fan,” says Bonanni, who had a spell with the Biancocolesti back in 2006.
“I don’t think the club has made him a ridiculous offer. Now, he has to figure out which side he’s on. With all respect to Fulham, I would stay at home and have important responsibilities (in Serie A).”
The ball is most certainly in Romagnoli’s court. And Fulham’s hopes seem to rest on whether the 27-year-old – who’s Milan contract expired last week – opts for the glamour and the bank-balance swelling riches of the Premier League over the opportunity to finally don the iconic sky blue shirt of his beloved Lazio.
With Lazio’s sporting director confirming that Romagnoli has given a return to Rome the green light, it seems increasingly unlikely that the left-footed central defender will be partnering Tosin Adarabioyo in West London next term.
“Romagnoli accepted the offer,” says Igli Tare, before pointing out that a deal is far from done. “But the problem is those damn commissions to be paid to agent Enzo Raiola. The will of the two parties is to find a definitive agreement.”
Newcastle are also fans of Romangoli. The Magpies are no longer in contention after snapping up Sven Botman from Lille however.
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