Mason Greenwood fails to secure exit route as Lazio transfer blitz never fully materialised

Mason Greenwood has not moved to Lazio despite reports suggesting they were preparing a late ‘blitz’, as the Italian transfer window has passed without him moving.

Greenwood was suspended by Manchester United in January 2022 amid a criminal investigation, after he was arrested on suspicion of rape and assault. The club continued their own investigations after the case was dropped by police.

As such, Greenwood remained suspended until it was announced in August that there was a mutual agreement in place for him to continue his career elsewhere.

It was reported that Steven Gerrard’s side Al Ettifaq were interested in taking the forward on board, but the manager himself quashed those rumours, declaring them ‘fake news’.

Teams in Turkey and Italy have also been linked, as has an Albanian outfit, though it’s Lazio who seemed the most likely to welcome him at the back end of the window.

Insider Fabrizio Romano and Gianluca di Marzio both issued reports regarding a possible move to the Serie A outfit, with the former stating they had been “offered the possibility” to sign Greenwood.

Di Marzio followed that up by stating they were keen on the move and were ‘trying the final blitz’ to make it happen. That suggested Lazio were very keen and could have come to an agreement with the player with ease, with little in the way of the move.

However, that’s not how things have panned out. Despite the reported blitz, Romano has issued an update stating the deal is ‘OFF’, as the Italian transfer window closed, and he has not made the move. Whether they ever did attempt the transfer is unclear.

With Greenwood still being on the books at United for the time being, they are shackled by the parameters of the transfer window. Given the deal didn’t go through within the window, there’s now no way of him making the move.

United will have to look at other ways of shipping him out, which may mean he’s still at the club until January, the next time the transfer window is open, and as such the next opportunity for him to find another club.

That is unless somebody in a country where the transfer window is still open attempts a late swoop.

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