Lazio president Claudio Lotito has sensationally claimed that a fee approaching £60million would not be enough to purchase Nuno Tavares.
The stunning declaration comes as the defender is experiencing an unprecedented level of production in Serie A since his move in the summer, which saw Lazio loan him from the Emirates with an obligation to buy next summer for £7.5m.
Tavares leads the division in assists this term and registered eight in as many outings for the side currently sat fifth in the table. His performances are a far cry from those produced in the Premier League for Arsenal and Nottingham Forest.
According to Italian newspaper Il Messaggero, Lotito, who signed the 24-year-old on-loan from the Gunners with an obligation to buy, said: 'I won’t sell Tavares, not even for €70m (£59m). We have beaten off strong competition from the big clubs to sign the left-back in the summer.'
Tavares, who is still yet to receive a full international cap for Portugal, moved to north London from Benfica in 2021 and went on to make 28 appearances for the club in all competitions.
However, he failed to nail down a place under Mikel Arteta and was sent on a series of loan spells, first stopping in Marseille before a short spell at Forest and now in Rome.
The defender finally appears to have found his place and his flourishing in Italy after three difficult seasons.
Last month, Lotito told Il Messaggero: 'We have built a new team with potential suited to today’s football, be patient.
‘Ours is a real and strong group. We have many players called up by the national team , but I am convinced that all the new arrivals are also of a high level.
'But have you seen what technique [Taty] Castellanos has? And now he has also made his debut with Argentina.
‘You always have to give the players time to settle in. Tavares is the same, have you seen what a player he is? And now you will also see [Samuel] Gigot.’
Lazio thrashed Como 5-1 on Thursday night and Tavares took his tally of assists in the league to eight. Unfortunately the match also saw the defender pick up a red card, which will mean he will have to wait another week to add to his league-leading total.