Lazio close in on Andrea Pinamonti signing after Sassuolo agreement

Andrea Pinamonti has arrived at Lazio’s Formello training centre to undergo his medical after the Rome club reached an agreement with Sassuolo for the Italy striker.

The 27-year-old travelled to the capital on Wednesday after Sassuolo gave final clearance for the move, bringing a pursuit that has developed throughout August to the final stage before completion.

Sky Sport Italia reports that the agreement is worth around €12 million including the guaranteed payment and performance-related bonuses. The structure of the deal changed during negotiations, with Lazio ultimately moving towards a permanent transfer after initially exploring a loan.

Pinamonti has not yet been officially announced as a Lazio player. He must complete his medical and the remaining contractual formalities before the club can confirm the signing.

But the central elements of the transfer are now in place.

Lazio identified the centre-forward position as one of their priorities after Gennaro Gattuso took charge, with the club exploring several profiles during a complicated search for additional attacking depth.

A proposed move for Bamba Dieng collapsed after problems emerged during his medical, while Lazio also held discussions over Mauro Icardi before increasing their efforts to secure Pinamonti.

The Sassuolo striker gradually became the most attainable option.

Negotiations accelerated after Lazio met his representatives and established the framework of personal terms, but Sassuolo were reluctant to authorise his departure until they had made sufficient progress towards securing a replacement.

That condition has now effectively been satisfied.

Sassuolo are closing in on Sebastiano Esposito from Cagliari, clearing the way for Pinamonti to travel to Rome and complete the final steps of his transfer.

For Lazio, the signing addresses a clear structural need.

Boulaye Dia started through the middle in the opening Serie A victory over Bologna, but Gattuso entered the season without another established natural centre-forward capable of providing both competition and a different reference point in attack.

Pinamonti offers precisely that profile.

He is accustomed to operating as the focal point of a Serie A attack, comfortable playing with his back to goal and occupying centre-backs inside the penalty area. His movement around the box and ability to finish attacks should give Lazio a more conventional No.9 option while allowing Gattuso to vary the shape of his forward line.

The move also carries relatively little adaptation risk.

Pinamonti has spent virtually his entire senior career in Italian football, progressing through Inter’s academy before spells with Frosinone, Genoa and Empoli eventually led to a permanent move to Sassuolo.

He arrives in Rome after recording nine goals and four assists in 37 appearances during the 2025/26 campaign.

Those numbers are not the profile of a striker being recruited to transform an attack single-handedly. Lazio’s calculation is more specific: they are adding a proven Serie A forward capable of giving Gattuso reliable minutes, physical presence and another route to goal across a season that will demand greater depth.

At 27, Pinamonti should also arrive close to the peak stage of his career.

He has already accumulated extensive top-flight experience without reaching an age at which Lazio would expect an immediate physical decline, making the reported €12m investment easier to justify than a more expensive late-window gamble on an unfamiliar profile.

The deal is equally significant for Sassuolo.

Pinamonti has been one of their principal attacking figures and his departure requires an immediate response, which explains why the club resisted releasing him until negotiations for Esposito had advanced.

That sequencing delayed the move but ultimately protected both sides.

Sassuolo are positioned to replace their striker rather than entering the final days of the window with an obvious vacancy, while Lazio are now close to securing the centre-forward Gattuso had requested without allowing the search to drift into deadline-day uncertainty.

There is still one final threshold to cross.

Pinamonti’s presence at Formello means the transfer has moved beyond negotiation and into completion, but medical examinations and signatures remain necessary before Lazio can formally introduce him as their new player.

If those checks are completed without complications, the search that moved through Dieng, Icardi and several alternative profiles will end with a striker already deeply familiar with Serie A.

Lazio wanted another genuine No.9 for Gattuso.

Pinamonti is now in Rome to become that player.