Pepe Reina Closing in on Lazio Switch From AC Milan

Pepe Reina is edging closer to joining Simone Inzaghi's Lazio on a two-year deal from fellow Italian outfit AC Milan.

If the deal is finalised as it's expected to, it will be the Spaniard's seventh club of a career spanning over 20 years - one that began with Barcelona.

A nine-year stint with Liverpool in the Premier League was Reina's first foray into English football, one that was extended back in January when he joined Aston Villa on loan from Milan until the end of the season. A successful conclusion to the campaign saw Villa stay up and Reina return to San Siro, but he appears on the move once more.

As per Fabrizio Romano, the 37-year-old has agreed a two-year deal with Lazio, with a medical in Rome to take place in the coming days. The switch will see Reina have the chance to try his hand at Champions League football once more, a competition that Milan missed out on after their sixth place finish in the 2019/20 Serie A season.

Lazio boast Thomas Strakosha between the sticks at present, with it widely expected that Reina will come in and play as understudy to the Albania international.

Valencia were also in the running to sign the experienced goalkeeper, who has one year left on his Rossoneri deal, although the allure of elite European football has succeeded in luring him to Rome.

Reina will be playing for the third Italian club in his career, having played over 200 times for Napoli across two different spells. Initially joining on loan from the Reds in 2013, he returned to the club in 2015 after leaving Bayern Munich.

If the Madrid-born stopper makes two outings for his soon-to-be-club, it will see him amass a total of 850 career appearances.

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