Will he soon have a World Cup winner as his coach? An exciting transfer option could open up for David Alaba

Il Messaggero reports that the centre-back has emerged as a target for Serie A side Lazio. The club are in the market for a new central defender after Alessio Romagnoli (31) left on Thursday. He has joined Al-Sadd in Qatar.

With the transfer window shut in many top leagues, Lazio sporting director Angelo Fabiani said as he looked for reinforcements: "The market for players without a contract remains open. I preferred to keep a few places in the squad free in order to monitor such situations closely." According to Il Messaggero, though, the club's interest in Alaba has not yet developed into anything concrete.

Lazio have started the season well. They have won both of their opening Serie A matches without conceding and sit sixth in the table. Gennaro Gattuso's side beat Bologna and Genoa 1-0, with Denmark international Oliver Provstgaard (23) and former Bundesliga professional Danilo Doekhi (28) paired at the heart of defence in both games.

Available on a free, Alaba fits Lazio's profile. The former Bayern professional saw his Real contract expire in June after five years and has been searching for a new club since. Despite plenty of speculation, he still has not found one. Most recently, he was also linked with Al-Sadd and MLS champions Inter Miami. In May it was also said that Red Bull Salzburg were interested in bringing him back.

Serie A

Udinese

UDI

7 Sept 202614:45

Lazio

LAZ

At the World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico this summer, Alaba, who has 117 caps for Austria, showed he is still fit and in form after constant injury problems: There he led the Austria national team as captain and played in every match, including the exit against eventual winners Spain in the round of 32.

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Much of Alaba's career came in a Bayern Munich shirt, where he won ten German titles and two Champions Leagues with the Reds. He then joined Madrid on a free transfer in 2021, a move that did not happen without some background noise. He won the big-eared trophy twice more with Los Blancos, but in December 2023 he also suffered a serious knee injury that sidelined him for more than a year. Since the 2023/24 season, he has missed 109 matches for club and country.