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.
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.”
