Serie A club Lazio have officially announced the signing of Super Eagles midfielder Fisayo Dele-Bashiru on loan with option to buy from Turkish Super Lig side Hatayspor.
Lazio confirmed the loan signing on their website on Saturday.
The Dele-Bashiru has moved to Lazio on an initial loan deal with an obligation to buy if certain sporting conditions are met.
Reports earlier in the week suggested that Lazio have paid a fee of around €2m to secure the loan, and will be obliged to pay a further €4m to make the deal permanent.
The 23-year-old, who had joined Hatayspor as a free agent at the beginning of last season, is still under contract in Turkey until 2026, but he will be approaching the final year of that deal at the end of the 2024-25 campaign.
Reports in Italy claimed that there was a €7m release clause in the player’s Hatayspor contract, which means that Lazio have managed to negotiate a cut-down price.
Dele-Bashiru arrived in Rome on Thursday and has since completed the necessary medical checks and contract signings.
After playing for the Manchester City youth team, whom he joined at the age of 8, he moved to Sheffield Wednesday in July 2020, signing for an undisclosed fee.
On 6 July 2023, it was confirmed he had joined Turkish club Hatayspor on a three-year contract.
He scored eight goals in his first Süper Lig season, finishing as the club’s joint-top scorer along with Carlos Strandberg, including a crucial goal on the final matchday in a 2–0 win over Rizespor, securing his club’s survival in the top tier.
In October 2023 he was called-up to the Nigeria national team and scored on his debut in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifying match versus South Africa which ended 1-1 inside the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo.
Lazio have been Italian champions twice (1974, 2000), and have won the Coppa Italia seven times, the Supercoppa Italiana three times, and both the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup and UEFA Super Cup on one occasion.