According to Football Direct News, the Lazio midfielder Ogenyi Onazi is on the Liverpool radar for a possible switch in the summer.
Ogenyi Onazi is a Nigerian defensive midfielder, famous for his physical style of play.
He is only 21 years old, and he climbed through the ranks of Lazio academy until he was established as a first team regular this season.
Onazi played 23 games for Lazio Serie A, scoring one goal and adding three assists, proving that he is not only a defense oriented player, but a complete package.
Despite his youth, he already earned 12 caps for the Nigerian senior team, and played an instrumental role in winning the African Cup of Nations.
His style of playing and his perspective in further development, considering his youth and potential, caught the eye of Liverpool manager, Brendan Rodgers.
Liverpool scouts have been watching Onazi for months, and allegedly, Rodgers is very happy with their reports, and will make an offer to Lazio during this summer.
Onazi himself claimed that he would like to play in England, and that the English Premier League is the competition most suitable to his style of play.
The defensive midfielder spot in Liverpool is covered by Lucas, whose long-term injury prevented him from playing, and with Henderson and Allen, who aren’t real defensive midfielders, so it is logical that Rodgers wants to strengthen that spot with a specialist, in the true sense of the word.
With his physical style of play, Onazi should fit right in the English Premier League and Liverpool’s squad.
But, on the other hand, Lazio’s chairman Lotito was vastly criticized because he sold his best player Hernanes to Inter and did not bring in a replacement player. Therefore, he will be under pressure in the summer not to sell any more first-team players, making it hard for Liverpool to land the £7 million Onazi.
Since the Liverpool manager considers the young Nigerian to be just the thing he needs to complete his squad, and Onazi finds the opportunity to play in the English Premier League to be exciting, it only remains to be seen whether or not Lazio will give the green light to the Nigerian regarding this possible transfer.
