Lazio Agree £4.3M Deal for Liverpool Midfielder Luis Alberto

With just a couple of days left in the summer transfer window, Liverpool are hard at work finding new homes for some of their fringe players. And today, they have agreed a deal with Lazio that will see 23-year-old Luis Alberto make the switch to Serie A for £4.3M.

It’s a lower base fee than the club had hoped to receive for Alberto, but according to the BBC there are add-ons that could see the number rise to one closer to the £6.8M the Reds paid for him in the summer of 2013. There is also a 30% sell-on clause included in the deal.

Alberto was one of the first signings of the Brendan Rodgers era at Liverpool, and he seemed a perfect fit for the controlled possession game the manager had arrived at the club preaching. However, when Rodgers switched to a more uptempo approach, Alberto was sidelined.

Embracing the talents of Luis Suarez meant playing a fast counter game, one that Alberto was never well suited for, and as a result the midfielder ended up being loaned out, first to Malaga and then Deportivo de La Coruna. Both spells were at least moderately successful.

In fact, after scoring six goals and eight assists in 31 appearances for Deportivo last season, Alberto was heavily linked with a permanent return to Spain. Both Valencia and boyhood club Sevilla were mooted, though neither was willing or able to pay a fee that satisfied Liverpool.

Instead, he will head to Lazio, who finished eighth last season in Seire A, joining a club and league he seems well suited for.