Lazio on brink of Vieri capture

Unsettled forward Christian Vieri is on the brink of a move back to Italian football.

Atletico Madrid coach Arrigo Sacchi has kept the striker away from training all week as the player discussed his future with the president Jesus Gil. An offer of £21 million by SS Lazio has been accepted by the Madrid club and Lazio hope to announce the signing before the weekend. Vieri is the top scorer in the Spanish Primera Division after his first season with the side after a £12 million move from Juventus. He scored five goals for the Italian national side in the recent World Cup in France.

Vieri will form a £50 million strike force for the resurgent Rome club with Chile forward Marcelo Salas signed for the coming season starting on September 13th from River Plate.

Veteran Lazio forward Roberto Mancini denied criticising the transfer policy of president Sergio Cragnotti but there is now a surfeit of forwards at the Southern Italian with the future of Mancini and Croatian Alen Boksic now very much in doubt at the Roman side.

Lazio had an earlier bid for Vieri rejected in July but that was before the striker suffered under the training methods of new martinet Italian coach Arrigo Sacchi and the two now find it impossible to work with each other.