Scottish giants Celtic have suffered a huge blow as Lazio have entered the race to sign transfer target Fabio Borini, according to a Daily Mail report.
The newspaper claims Lazio are set to open talks with Sunderland next week over a potential £6million move for the Italian striker, while AC Milan are interested too.
It has been previously reported by the Daily Telegraph that Hoops manager Brendan Rodgers was keen on a reunion with the 26-year-old forward, who he managed at Liverpool and Swansea.
Rodgers made the Borini his first signing as Reds boss in 2012, though it never worked out for him on Merseyside as he only made 38 league and cup appearances in a three-year spell at the club, scoring three goals.
The Italian forward made the switch from Liverpool to Sunderland in the summer of 2015 for £8million, but he has failed to make much of an impact in the North East.
In his first season with the Black Cats he scored just five goals in 26 Premier League appearances, while he fared even worse in the 2016/17 campaign, scoring only two goals in 24 league games.
The report states that following their relegation to the Championship, Sunderland are looking to offload some of their players and Borini looks set to be one of them.
The 26-year-old has been capped by Italy once, as he featured as a second half substitute in a 1-0 friendly defeat to USA in February 2012.