Lazio Prepares Loan with Option to Buy for Šutalo
The Roman club reportedly offers Ajax a paid loan with a €15 million buy option plus a percentage of a future sale for the Croatian international.
The Roman club reportedly offers Ajax a paid loan with a €15 million buy option plus a percentage of a future sale for the Croatian international.
Lazio has intensified its interest in Croatian international Josip Šutalo, and according to Tuttomercatoweb, the Roman club is preparing a concrete offer for Ajax. For the defensive position, Lazio is first looking at Šutalo, and sporting director Angelo Fabiani is seeking a way to persuade the Dutch to let him move to Rome.
Citing Il Messaggero, Tuttomercatoweb reports that Lazio would offer a paid loan with a buy option for €15 million, with Ajax also receiving a high percentage of any future transfer of the Croatian center-back. The interest is not new: Gianluca Di Marzio reported earlier this week that Šutalo is the Roman club's first choice for the center-back position, ahead of Stepan Chaloupek from Sparta Prague.
Lazio has also been offered 32-year-old Daniele Rugani, who is not in Juventus's first-team plans, but this option currently does not appeal much to coach Gennaro Gattuso. According to Tuttomercatoweb, Rugani is not the main option, and Lazio would prefer to bring in Šutalo.
The Italian club has been monitoring the Croatian international for some time. Alfredo Pedullà reported last week that Lazio had asked about the transfer conditions and that Ajax expects Šutalo to leave before the end of the transfer window. At that time, amounts of €12 to €13 million were mentioned, plus additional bonuses.
According to Transfermarkt, Šutalo is currently valued at €12 million, and his contract with Ajax runs until June 30, 2028. Ajax brought him from Dinamo in the summer of 2023 as one of its biggest signings. The Dutch club then officially confirmed that the fixed price was €20.5 million, and with bonuses it could reach €23.5 million. Šutalo signed a five-year contract.
In the past season, 2025/26, he played 30 matches for Ajax: 23 in the Eredivisie, six in the Champions League, and one in the Dutch Cup. After the World Cup, he did not play a single minute due to injury.
Lazio is not the only interested club. Benfica was already mentioned as a serious candidate in July, especially after Antonio Silva moved to Bournemouth. At that time, Portuguese and Dutch media wrote that Šutalo could be his replacement.
In recent days, news of Fulham's interest has also emerged, and Italians earlier claimed that Šutalo had rejected two offers from the Middle East, including one from Al-Hilal. Mike Verweij from De Telegraaf said back in July that Šutalo is one of the players Ajax would let go for the right price.
Meanwhile, Juventus is preparing to terminate the contract with Brazilian Arthur Melo, which would free them of a high-paid player who is not in the coach's plans. According to Sky Sport Italia, the parties are working on finding an agreement that would allow the Brazilian to leave before his contract expires in June 2027.
Arthur arrived in Turin in 2020 from Barcelona for approximately €80 million, as part of a deal in which Miralem Pjanić went in the opposite direction for €60 million. After a series of loans to Liverpool, Fiorentina, Girona, and Gremio, the Brazilian returned to Continassa without a clear path back to the first team.
