Southampton’s Wesley Hoedt has agreed a return to Serie A giants Lazio, although there is still work to be done before his £7.8 million loan-to-buy deal can be completed, according to La Lazio Siamo Noi.
The Dutch defender did not exactly leave the Stadio Olimpico on the best of terms back in 2017.
But time is the greatest of healers and, to use another tired cliché, plenty of water has passed under the bridge since then.
Lazio are preparing for another tilt at the Scudetto, not to mention their first Champions League campaign in 12 years.
And with head coach Simone Inzaghi keen to add some defensive depth to his squad before the October transfer deadline, he is willing to let bygones be bygones as a reunion with Hoedt edges closer.
Reports from the Italian capital claim that Hoedt has agreed a deal that will see him earn £30,000-a-week at Lazio; a major decrease on the £60,000-a-week he earns at Southampton (Spotrac).
But money isn’t everything.
Hoedt has barely kicked a ball in anger since Ralph Hasenhuttl took over at St Mary’s in late-2018 and, if he is to force his way into the Holland squad ahead of Euro 2021, a man who has spent the last two years on loan at Celta Vigo and Royal Antwerp needs to play regular first-team football.
La Lazio Siamo Noi adds that Lazio will pay near £8 million in a loan-to-buy deal. How that deal is arranged, however, remains to be seen.
Southampton, understandably, want an ‘obligation-to-buy’ agreement. Lazio, however, want the decision to be theirs.
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