Lazio are understood to have widened their hunt for a new centre-back, and have subsequently diluted their reported interest in Olympique de Marseille defender Nicolas Nkoulou.
While the capital club have been heavily linked to the stopper in recent weeks, Il Tempo [via Le 10 Sport] note that the Serie A heavyweights have also been taken by Nkoulou’s Marseille teammate Rolando, and are now considering the Portugal defender—who has previously featured in Italy for Napoli and Internazionale—as a potential alternative to the Cameroon international.
The news could come as a major boost for both Liverpool and Chelsea, with their pair both understood to be keen on the cultured Nkoulou.
Should Lazio opt to plump for Rolando, who only moved to OM earlier this year, the way may well be cleared for the two EPL giants to battle it out among themselves for 25-year-old Nkoulou.
The Central African previously featured for AS Monaco, before moving to OM in 2011.
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