Lazio, CSKA talks stall over Honda

Serie A club Lazio are the latest team to emerge in the competition to sign CSKA Moscow attacker Keisuke Honda.

But the two clubs are struggling to come to an agreement in regards to his transfer fee.

The Japan international, already known throughout Europe for both his daring play and his modelling for luxury brands, has been linked to teams such as Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United and Juventus in recent months.

However it appears that the Rome-based club has taken the lead and may be the closest yet to complete a deal.

Lazio director of Sport Igli Tare flew to Moscow earlier this week to take part in negotiations, with Italian press reporting that he offered two million euros for a six-month loan followed by an additional 10 million euros for a contract buyout.

But CSKA, known for rebuffing other clubs in the past over the issue, have stood firm on a demand for 16 million euros.

Honda, for his part, has asked for the number 10 shirt vacated last summer by Mauro Zarate and agreed to a reduction in salary, according to Italy’s Corriere dello Sport.

“Lazio is a great option for Honda,” the player’s agent Maikel Stevens told the same paper on Friday.

“But we’re still unsure whether the transfer will take place now or in the summer.”

While Russia’s Sport Express has claimed that negotiations are at a standstill over the transfer fee issue, Corriere reported last night that Lazio is also offering to include the contract of Nigerian striker Stephen Makinwa or Argentine goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo.