Verona advisor Maurizio Setti admits Lazio beat Chelsea for Reda Belahyane’s signature | OneFootball

Former Verona president and now an Advisor of Management, Maurizio Setti claimed that Lazio had to beat Chelsea in a transfer race to sign Reda Belahyane.

Speaking in an interview with La Lazio, Maurizio Setti applauded Reda Belahyane for his gameplay and congratulated Lazio for doing the deal with Verona. The former Verona president admitted that Premier League side Chelsea wanted him but backed off before deadline day as they needed a more mature player. Setti said: “Chelsea wanted to take him and we talked about it a lot, but they wanted a ready player, in the end, they didn’t consider him as such, too bad for them, Lazio was decided.”

Setti remarked that clubs like Marseille and Rennes were in the race too for the defensive midfielder but Lazio prevailed over everyone to get an underrated deal done just in time. He said: “There were also Marseille and Rennes, plus other important Italian teams that had appeared before, but Lotito was the most convinced and fastest.”

Belahyane has featured in 22 Serie A matches this season with Verona during which he has mustered two assists. He is known for ball progression and the ability to get out of complicated situations on the pitch.

Trambak Bhattacherjee | GIFN