Lazio have officially announced the signing of former Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder Daichi Kamada on a Bosman deal.
Kamada’s future has been one of the major talking points during the summer transfer window after he failed to renew his contract at the Deutsche Bank Park.
During his six-year stint with Die Adler, the 26-year-old established himself among the best-performing advanced playmakers in the Bundesliga.
The Japan international was a focal point of Oliver Glasner’s attacking set-up at Frankfurt last season, as evidenced by his impressive haul of 16 goals and seven assists from 47 competitive outings.
However, Die Adler’s recent decline in Germany’s top flight deterred the former Sagan Tosu starlet from penning a new deal, resulting in his departure at the end of last season.
As a free agent, Kamada has generated a host of interest across Europe’s top-five leagues this summer.
Before joining Lazio, he had drawn the attention of the Italians’ domestic rivals AC Milan, who were one step away from sealing his arrival at the beginning of the summer transfer window.
If it wasn’t for a change in the management structure at San Siro, he would’ve probably been Milan’s new playmaker by now.
Following Milan’s withdrawal, Inter Milan took the lead in the race to sign the Japanese star, but they went for Sassuolo’s Davide Frattesi.
Despite being rejected by the Milan clubs, Kamada will continue his career in Serie A after penning a two-year contract at the Stadio Olimpico.
Kamada underwent his medicals earlier today and will link up with Maurizio Sarri’s squad once he has completed all the paperwork to get a work permit.
The acquisition of Kamada should help Sarri contain the damage caused by Sergej Milinkovic-Savic’s move to Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal last month.
He will be the club’s third summer signing after the arrivals of Valentin ‘Taty’ Castellanos and Diego Gonzalez from New York City FC and Celaya, respectively.
