Lazio director Igli Tare has confirmed that the club are close to sorting out fresh contracts with Ciro Immobile and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic. The duo were unquestionably the top performers for the club during the course of the 2017/18 season and Tare has indicated that an announcement over an extension could be made by the end of the month.

Speaking to reporters, Tare said: “It’s a matter of days for Immobile and Milinkovic-Savic’s contracts. The agreements have been there for a while and I think it’ll be finalised at the start of next week. It has been a difficult start to the Serie A season for Lazio, who scraped 1-0 wins over Frosinone and Empoli after losing to Napoli and Juventus. I agree that we’re in a position that we are not accustomed to being in, as we were always surprise outfits, whereas this year we declared that we wanted to be protagonists.”

“Lazio were widely expected to part ways with the pair during the summer transfer window with some of the elite“ clubs vying for their services. Italian striker Immobile had been linked with a potential move to long-time “admirers Napoli but a “transfer never came about after Lazio placed a staggering €100m price tag on the player’s head.

Likewise, Serbian midfielder Milinkovic-Savic had caught the eye of many heavyweights including Juventus and Manchester United but a move was never on the horizon amid suggestions that Lazio could demand as much as €130m for his signature. Despite keeping the duo, Lazio have not made the start they would have hoped for with defeats against Napoli and Juventus in the opening two matches but they have found some respite after picking up six points from the next two games against Frosinone and Empoli. Lazio will be eyeing a third-straight league win when they host Genoa in their home turf this weekend.