Born and raised in Germany – precisely in Pforzheim – a small city located between Stuttgart and Karlsruhe, Vincenzo Grifo is of Italian nationality: aw Sicilian father, and a Puglian mother, despite having spent their entire life in Germany, have never forgotten her origins.

Born in 1993, he is currently a left winger/midfielder owned by German side Borussia Mönchengladbach, who seems to remind people of former Lazio, and now Inter player Antonio Candreva. At 25-years of age, he is agile and fast, and has reached football maturity over the past few seasons. This has led to Lazio setting their sights on the player.

After stints at Hoffenheim, Dynamo Dresden and FSV Frankfurt, Grifo in 2015 landed at Freiburg, where he finally blossomed, dragging the German side last season into the Europa League. He had 64 appearances, with 23 goals scored in all competitions.

These were numbers that did not go unnoticed by Borussia Mönchengladbach, who bought the Ital-German for a sum of 6 million euros this past summer. However, his season was characterized by an injury that initially slowed him down (2017/18). Though injured, when making his return he was able to make 17 appearances for the club, collecting 4 assists.

Lazio has been on his tracks for a long time, so much so that in 2012 they had tried to bring him to the Capital of Italy. In the end, however, Grifo – then very young – decided to stay in Germany, to stay with his family and stay close to home.

To current date, however, his mind seems to have changed. The player is very fond of Sporting Director Igli Tare and is on Lazio’s radar. This is because they will not be redeeming Portuguese attacker Nani, and still have to decide on the future of Felipe Anderson.

Between the biancoceleste company and Grifo’s agent, there has been some recent contact, and the player could leave for a figure of around 10 million euros. This is an offer that would convince Mönchengladbach to let him go, and that would allow Lazio to obtain their first reinforcement of the season.

They must also overcome the competition of rivals Fiorentina, who have already shown interest.

Would you like to see Grifo playing in Italy? Does he have a career with the biancocelesti?