Inter market, Beppe Marotta back in charge for Lazio defender
In all likelihood at the end of the season Francesco Acerbi and Stefan de Vrij will say goodbye to Inter: both are expiring contracts and Cristian Chivu wants to green up the squad to open a new winning cycle. In recent years, the two seasoned defenders have given a lot to the Nerazzurri club but the identity card is starting to show: the former Sassuolo player in February will blow out 38 candles, the former Lazio player 34. Beppe Marotta and his associates obviously know the situation very well and have already started sounding out the market for replacements for the two experienced defenders. One solution could come from Lazio.
Also on the radar of the Nerazzurri club is Mario Gila, a Spanish central linked to Lazio by a contract until 2027. In recent months some executives of the biancoceleste club have contacted the former Real Madrid player’s entourage to talk about renewal but the player has decided to stall. Mario Gila has not yet made a decision: he wants to wait until the end of the season and then figure out, also based on Lazio’s placement in the standings, how to proceed. The situation certainly cannot make Claudio Lotito happy, who risks having to sell off the defender in the summer to avoid losing him for free in 2027.
Beppe Marotta has sniffed out the deal and could send some emissaries to the upcoming matches of Maurizio Sarri’s team to take a closer look at the Spanish defender. A number of English clubs are also on Mario Gila’s trail but it seems that the player is particularly comfortable in Italy and, at the moment, would prefer to continue his career i serie A, where he landed in 2022. Claudio Lotito’s Lazio shelled out €6 million to acquire the Spaniard from Real Madrid Castilla, essentially the Blancos’ second team. After an initial adjustment period, Mario Gila has established himself as one of the most solid defenders in our league.
A class of 2000, the Spanish center-back has so far totaled 99 appearances topped by 2 goals with the biancoceleste club. He will not take part in Lazio’s next match against Parma since he was sent off against Bologna as part of a much-discussed episode that created great controversy among biancocelesti fans.
After being cautioned for a bad intervention against Santiago Castro, Mario Gila protested against referee Fabbri’s decision: “What are you doing? You are poor, you are poor” said the Spanish central. The match director then drew the red card but, according to many, the’referee was excessively harsh.
