Eriksson and Cragnotti to have talks

Lazio coach Sven Goran Eriksson was due to meet club president Sergio Cragnotti at the Formello training ground today as speculation…

Lazio coach Sven Goran Eriksson was due to meet club president Sergio Cragnotti at the Formello training ground today as speculation mounted about the Swede's departure.

Eriksson, set to meet at 12:30 (11:30 GMT), is due to take the reins of the England national team on July 1 but both Italian champions Lazio and Eriksson have insisted he will honour his contract which ends on June 30th.

However, Cragnotti did not issue his usual "Eriksson will stay" statement after Sunday's 2-1 home defeat by lowly Napoli and that has fueled speculation that a parting of the ways is imminent.

Last week, it was reported that English Football Association chief Adam Crozier would fly to Rome this weekend in an attempt to secure Eriksson's release for forthcoming World Cup matches.

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If Eriksson does leave, the obvious candidate to replace him would be Lazio vice-president Dino Zoff, who was coach to the Italian national team in Euro 2000 and was the captain of Italy's World Cup winning team in 1982.

Eriksson's assistant Roberto Mancini has also been linked with the vacancy.

AFP