Thursday, July 21, 2022 at 4:57 PM• Guy Habets • Last update: 18:20

Kevin Strootman seems to be on his way to the Italian Serie A again, writes transfer expert Fabrizio Romano. The Dutch midfielder is involved in an exchange deal with Hellas Verona by Olympique Marseille, his employer. Darko Lazovic would then go the opposite way and play football in Ligue 1.

Marseille has an interest in the deal being concluded quickly, because the French would like to get Lazovic, according to Romano. In addition, Strootman’s salary weighs heavily on the budget of l’OM. A player swap is therefore the best option for the French, who are trying to convince Hellas Verona that Strootman is an asset to them. If successful, it could come around quickly and a return of the Dutch midfielder in Italy is imminent. Serie A is no stranger to him.

The 32-year-old Strootman left for AS Roma in the summer of 2013 for 17.5 million euros, after having caused a furore in the PSV shirt for two seasons. Strootman’s period in the Italian capital was characterized by injuries: he missed no fewer than 96 duels, mainly due to knee injuries. Nevertheless, Roma still managed to make a big profit on him, as he moved to the Stade Vélodrome for 25 million. Marseille now seems to see nothing more of that transfer fee, even after rental periods to Genoa and Cagliari did not generate the desired interest.

However, the French will still be happy that Strootman is moving. Reportedly, he stands for a monthly salary of more than half a million euros in the books. And that has been a problem for chairman Pablo Longoria for quite some time. He himself therefore went in search of a possible solution for the 32-year-old left leg, who was recommended to help in order to be able to play somewhere in the last years of his career. That will have to happen at Hellas Verona.