Diogo Leite set to join Lazio as free agent

Lazio have all but completed the signing of Diogo Leite, with the club having scheduled a medical for the free agent centre-back on Sunday.

Leite, 27, left Union Berlin at the end of his contract this summer after four seasons in Berlin, where he made 136 appearances, scoring twice and providing three assists. According to Fabrizio Romano, Lazio have agreed terms with the Portuguese defender on a three-year deal with the option of a further year.

The move fills the gap left by Alessio Romagnoli, who departed the Stadio Olimpico late on Thursday to join Al-Sadd in Qatar after four years at the club. The 31-year-old had been linked with a move to the Qatar Stars League since January. Free-agent signings are not bound by the transfer window, which allowed Lazio to move for Leite even after Serie A's deadline had passed earlier in the week.

A product of the Porto academy, Leite made 51 appearances for the first team before a loan spell at Braga, where he played 34 matches. Should the transfer go through, he would be reunited with Danilho Doekhi, his former central-defensive partner at Union Berlin, who also joined Lazio as a free agent this summer.

Reports on Saturday also linked Lazio with a move for David Alaba, though that interest remains at an early stage. Leite's arrival, by contrast, looks close to being confirmed, and would take the number of Portuguese players in Serie A to 16.