Chelsea accept Lazio loan bid for Davide Zappacosta with £13.5m permanent option
Italian right-back has been given green light to leave Stamford Bridge after falling down pecking order under Maurizio Sarri
CHELSEA have reportedly accepted a loan bid from Lazio for Davide Zappacosta.
Il Messaggero claims the right-back will return to Italy this month in a deal which can be made permanent for £13.5million next summer.
Zappacosta, 26, joined the Blues from Torino for £25m in the wake of Antonio Conte’s surprise title win in 2017.
He was recruited to provide support for Victor Moses in the right wing-back position, going on to make 35 appearances in a 5-3-2 system last season.
But he has featured just nine times this term after Maurizio Sarri returned to a back four with Cesar Azpilicueta on the right flank.
And Zappacosta will now be looking to restore his confidence at Lazio, who sit fourth in Serie A.
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His exit could pave the way for Elseid Hysaj to link up with Sarri for a third time.
The Napoli defender has fallen down the pecking order under Carlo Ancelotti, with both Kevin Malcuit and Nikola Maksimovic ahead of him.
Hysaj’s agent said on Friday: “A transfer in January? In the summer he could have gone with Sarri to Chelsea, but Ancelotti openly told us that he needed him. We need to find a solution to the problem.
“He was among the best performing full-backs in Europe. If he is seen as an alternative, we will ask for a sale in January.”
