Lazio have announced the arrival of Italian centre-forward Andrea Pinamonti, who completed a permanent transfer from Sassuolo.
The Biancocelesti have been searching the market for a centre-forward since the start of the summer, as Gennaro Gattuso, like his predecessor Maurizio Sarri, isn't convinced by Petar Ratkov , while Boulaye Dia hasn't been effective in front of goal.
Andrea Pinamonti (Photo by Timothy Rogers/Getty Images)
The Italian capital club pursued several targets, including Franjo Ivanovic, Santiago Gimenez, and Carlos Espi. But after missing out on these players, Pinamonti rose to the top of the shortlist. Earlier this week, Lazio closed an agreement with Sassuolo , paving the way for the player's arrival in Rome on Wednesday.
After passing his medical, Pinamonti became the new Lazio striker, as the club confirmed via an official statement published Thursday morning.
SS Lazio announces the permanent signing of the registration rights for footballer Andrea Pinamonti from US Sassuolo Calcio.
In recent days, most sources expected Lazio to sign Pinamonti on loan with an option to buy, similar to Davide Frattesi and Josip Sutalo's operations, as the club cannot afford to spend heavily on new signings after being restricted to a net-zero transfer market . Therefore, the Italian forward was tipped to extend his expiring contract with Sassuolo before making the move to the capital.
Andrea Pinamonti (Photo by Simone Arveda/Getty Images)
Nevertheless, the official note confirmed what Gianluca Di Marzio and others had reported in recent days, confirming that this was indeed a permanent transfer. The Sky Sport Italia correspondent suggested that the two clubs will work around the restrictions by agreeing on a modest fixed fee (around €2-3 million) in addition to large bonuses that could raise the total cost to €12 million.
