According to the latest reports from CittaCeleste, Lazio goalkeeper Silvio Proto could be set to leave the club this summer, with a potential return to his home country of Belgium on the cards. In fact, Proto would reportedly wish to re-join his former club Anderlecht, where he spent a total of 11 years between 2005 and 2016.
Proto joined Anderlecht from AA La Louviere in July 2005 for a fee of around €1.5 million, before eventually moving to fellow Belgian outfit KV Oostende in the summer of 2016. After spending a season with Oostende, Proto joined Greek Super League outfit Olympiacos on a free, where he spent a year before joining the Biancocelesti in July 2019, once again on a free transfer.
Proto’s contract with Lazio expires in 2021 and there is next-to-no chance of the club renewing his deal, as the Belgian has not featured frequently for the club and reportedly has not convinced the management of his abilities as a vice-Strakosha. Proto would like to return to Anderlecht to finish his career and could move as early as this summer, Lazio offloading the goalkeeper to make way for a replacement.
Emiliano Viviano has been named as a potential replacement for Proto, with the keeper himself open to a move to Rome. The former Arsenal and Sporting Lisbon keeper is currently available for a free and reportedly failed a medical test to join Inter earlier on in 2020.
There is one current issue in terms of Proto’s return to Anderlecht; the somewhat tense relationship between the Belgian shot-stopper and the club president, Marc Couke. Couke forced Proto to leave Oostende when the businessman owned the club and when Couke then proceeded to takeover Anderlecht, the keeper’s chances of finishing his career at his favorite club grew smaller. As of January this year, there was still bad blood before the duo and this may prove pivotal in whether or not the Belgian leaves Lazio this summer.
