Chelsea could reportedly be given an opportunity to offload Davide Zappacosta as Lazio have been tipped to launch a bid for the Italian full-back.
As noted by Sky Sports, the Blues splashed out in excess of £23m on the 26-year-old last year as he was expected to play a key role under former boss Antonio Conte.
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The coaching change to Maurizio Sarri hasn’t helped him, as he’s been limited to just nine appearances in all competitions so far this season, totalling just 18 minutes of playing time in the Premier League after 20 games.
In turn, having gone from a regular for Torino and pushing for a spot in the Italy line-up to a bit-part player at Stamford Bridge featuring in the Europa League, Zappacosta could welcome the chance to return to Serie A.
According to TuttoMercatoWeb, via the paper edition of Il Messaggero, the capital club are eyeing an initial loan move with an option to buy between €10m and €12m.
Whether that’s enough to convince Chelsea to allow him to leave firstly remains to be seen, while personal terms would then have to be agreed upon too to persuade Zappacosta over a move to the Stadio Olimpico.
Sarri has relied heavily on Cesar Azpilicueta at right-back so far this season, and given his switch to a back four, it could be argued that it doesn’t leave him with a huge number of options in that position if he was to let Zappacosta leave.
With that in mind, perhaps unless the player himself requests a move in January due to his limited playing time, the Italian tactician will do his best to convince him to stay as with Chelsea continuing to compete on multiple fronts, he could be a key figure in the coming months, especially in the Europa League.
