Calcio Mercato: Lazio sell Kolarov

Alex Kolarov has been sold by Lazio for a reported 18.5 million Euros to English side Manchester City. The talented left back has been linked away from Lazio for some time and given that he was out of contract in the near future now was the right time to sell for the Roman club. In many respects it is not a huge loss at all. From a defence point he has been surpassed by Stefan Radu and with the change in formation under Edy Reja, who plays three at the back, Kolarov found himself on the left of midfield last season. Creative, poweful going forward and a sweat strike are his key attributes, but too often these were inconsistenly seen and he was not one of the key players that fought hard to get Lazio out of the mess they were in halfway throughout last season. The effort levels and motivation did not seem to be there, as the likes of Sergio Floccari, Nando Muslera, Stefan Radu, Willy Stendardo, Andre Dias, Stefan Lichsteiner and even Stefano Mauri raised their game to get Lazio to 'salvation'. With no European action for Lazio, and no desire to stay, now was the right time to sell.

And, with 18.5 million on the table, Lazio can now use that money to good effect to inject some real quality in the midfield one hopes. Brazilian sensation Hernanes has been linked to Lazio recently, somewhat surprisingly given that last season he was linked to practically all the huge clubs in Europe. Time will tell if these somewhat unlikely rumours come to the fore.