Town chief executive Simon Clegg says the Blues haven’t forgotten that Serie A side Lazio still owe them a friendly from the 2003 deal which saw keeper Matteo Sereni move to the Rome club. Two friendlies were agreed in exchange for Sereni with Lazio eventually playing the first in 2006 when they ran out 2-0 winners.
Clegg says he has made attempts to get the second game played but so far with little success: "They do owe us a game. Over the last two seasons [I’ve contacted them] and I’ve not been overly happy with their response, so I’m now in the process of elevating it.
"Suffice to say, in the last two years I’ve been trying to engage with Lazio to get them to honour their agreement.”
The chief executive wouldn’t be drawn on the specifics of any action which might be taken: "There are a number of courses which are available to me and I don’t like to go public on these matters until such time as I feel that it’s appropriate to do so.
"I’m highly conscious of that commitment and believe that it needs to be and should be honoured. And if it isn’t honoured it needs to be dealt with in an appropriate financial fashion.”
In 2005, with Lazio proving difficult to pin down regarding the first friendly, Clegg’s predecessor Derek Bowden wrote to the FA to seek compensation from the Italian club in line with the potential earnings from a pre-season friendly.