According to Italian news outlet Il Messaggero, Lazio are interested in signing Sevilla FC’s 26-year-old goalkeeper Sergio Rico González – who is currently on loan with Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain – to be Thomas Strakosha’s backup. The Spaniard’s contract expires in 2021 and as the Biancocelesti have a very good relationship with Sevilla, and as the player has the same Agent as Jony and Luis Alberto, there is a high possibility that a transfer could occur.
Lazio’s hunt for a second goalkeeper is a result of Silvio Proto looking likely 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, with Lazio offloading the goalkeeper to make way for a replacement that could very well turn out to be Sergio Rico.