Francesco Acerbi seems destined to leave Lazio this summer as both Inter and Monza are keen to pick him up.
The 34-year-old Italian defender suffered a complete relationship breakdown with the Biancocelesti faithful this season following a tough start under coach Maurizio Sarri.
He didn’t react well to the criticism and the fans refused to forgive him, sparking a toxic situation in Rome. He’s now likely to be sold this summer, despite having a contract that lasts until 2025.
As reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport (via LazioNews24), Inter are currently leading the race to sign Acerbi this summer, with Simone Inzaghi keen to be reunited with the Lazio centre back. They’re not keen to pay a significant amount, however, and so things could become complicated.
Journalist Nicolo Schira highlighted that the newly promoted Monza are also keen to sign the 34-year-old Italian.
Silvio Berlusconi’s side secured their spot in Serie A last night after a win over Pisa and now they’re looking to strengthen their squad a little in an attempt to avoid immediately dropping back down.
Apollo’s Thoughts
It’s time for Acerbi to part ways with Lazio, in my opinion. He was a good servant of the club under Simone Inzaghi but things reached an incredibly poisonous point this season and now is a good time to say goodbye.
Everything comes back to that fateful December evening, when Lazio faced Genoa. Acerbi’s decision to do a ‘shhh’ celebration after scoring is something he obviously regrets and admittedly it does seem a little harsh for the fans to refuse to forgive him for this, despite his humble apology.
Regardless though, he hasn’t found forgiveness in Rome and with Lazio looking to revitalise the squad, it makes sense to end Acerbi’s cycle in the Italian capital. Purely for the sake of entertainment, I’d much prefer to see him join Monza instead of being a bench warmer at Inter.
