Nigeria international Fisayo Dele-Bashiru signed for Lazio, initially on loan from Turkish outfit Hatayspor in 2024, before making his stay permanent last summer.
Since joining the club, the 25-year-old has made 40 appearances, scoring five goals, but his future looks to be in doubt based on suggested availability in the recent January transfer window.
A Lot Of Potential
When Dele-Bashiru joined Lazio, it wasn’t to go straight into the first team to start every game.
The initial loan move was to take a closer look at the former Manchester City youth product, before deciding on whether to make the deal permanent. The youngster, who also played for Sheffield Wednesday on over eighty occasions, had made his mark in Turkey, but Serie A would prove to be a much sterner test.
On loan, Dele-Bashiru started twelve games from a possible thirty-six in Serie A, and was substituted on eight times. What the midfielder is about was clear from the outset: he’s athletic and powerful, and capable of carrying the ball. But still raw and inexperienced at the top level.
After Signing Permanently
The 2025/26 campaign is his first season as a permanent Lazio player, but it’s fair to say things haven’t gone to plan so far.
Out of the ten Serie A games Dele-Bashiru has been available for, he’s only started four, but he has come off the bench the other six times. He was also missing for eight games with a hamstring injury and then away for another five with Nigeria at AFCON, where he started twice.
While Dele-Bashiru undoubtedly has a lot of potential, playing a bit part role where he’s getting some minutes here and there suggests there’s still a long way to go for him to force his way into the starting XI, and with players like Kenneth Taylor arriving recently, he could be pushed further down the pecking order.
Premier League Interest In the January Transfer Window
Lazio are currently sat just under ten points adrift of the European places in Serie A, with them having a big job on to make the top six according to the latest football betting odds. And the fact that the club seemed willing to let Dele-Bashiru leave if the terms were right tells its own story.
Premier League outfits Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest were said to have interest in bringing Dele-Bashiru back to England, with an initial loan move mooted. Bournemouth are renowned for signing young talent and selling them on for big profit, while Forest were thought to be looking for a powerful midfielder. Reports indicated that, alongside a loan move with a fee, there would have had to have been an obligation to buy for upwards of €15 million in the summer to tempt Lazio to deal.
Conclusion
After the interest came and went and no move transpired, Lazio are believed to be happy with Dele-Bashiru staying put and are convinced he has a long-term future at the club. And at 25-years-old, and with his physical profile, you can certainly see that being the case. It also helps that Lazio are under no pressure to sell, so if they want to keep a player or if a deal doesn’t work for them, then they can make decisions that suit them freely.
After Saturday’s game with Atalanta it’s clear he’s no Basic or Taylor in terms of defending but he was no Luis Alberto as to being the guy to start attacks or the person to spearhead attacks. In Sarri’s system he’s in no man’s land unless he’s improves one part of his game
100%. Him, Noslin, Nuno, etc. work well in the Baroni system as it’s a fast paced counter-attacking game, but they struggle in Sarri’s more technical, and defensively sound structure. So now what to do with them? Continue the rebuild and sell them off? Lots of decisions to be made this off-season.
It’s simple – no African players in Lazio. They are problematic. Often lazy. Different mentality. Problems with discipline. Lazio need more Italian giocatori! We have used to play with 6 in starting 11 (Provedel, Romagnoli, Casale, Cataldi, Zaccagni, Immobile) and finished 2nd! Plus AFCON is every other January. They leave and league continues. I can’t think of a single African in our ranks that would make a significant impact.
Laziale, please keep it nice on this forum and without prejudice. That Dele-Bashiru is no fit for Sarri’s system, is clear. I like his tenicity but it just seems that Sarri can’t get the rest out of him, which is a pity. Maybe it would be best to sell him in the summer. Also I agree with you that we should focus more on home-grown players.
I don’t like legionaries. Serie A has 66% of all players from other countries. Lazio 60%. They are here only for the money. They don’t understand nor care for club’s history and pride. They will go to whomever pays more. Rovella, Pellegrini, Romagnoli, Nesta, Cataldi feel/felt genuine desire to wear the badge. We also have good experience with Balkan players (SMS, Marusić, Stankovic, Pandev…) but not with Africans . There are more problems than benefits. For 1 good game there are 5 bad. That is mentality problem, they fight for money, not for the badge. I don’t want to see giocatori who do not value our shirt more than their wage in the team.
Wasteman.
Laziale you are correct .
Boris , pipe down, woke warrior!