Mandas and the almost inevitable Lazio sacrifice in 2026

Lazio have regenerated Ivan Provedel, which makes it almost inevitable the club can afford to sacrifice Christos Mandas in January after turning down €10m plus add-ons.

The Italian had been dropped to the bench during the Marco Baroni era, but he has recaptured the gloves in style under Maurizio Sarri with six clean sheets in 10 Serie A games this season.

Now that Provedel is back to being the undisputed Number One at the Stadio Olimpico, it becomes almost inevitable that Mandas will be sacrificed in the January transfer window.

The Greece international goalkeeper has a long contract to June 2029, but the problem is that last season he had become first choice and cannot accept dropping down to being an eternal reserve.

At his age, he needs space and visibility, which he is not going to get with Provedel there and the fact Lazio don’t even have European fixtures to rotate in.

Lazio had recently turned down offers for Mandas at around €10m plus add-ons, with approaches coming from the Premier League and beyond.

Now the Aquile can cash in, but it remains to be seen if anyone is still prepared to pay that figure after six months on the bench.