Bologna issued a statement on Tuesday announcing the buyout of Lazio's on-loan central defender Nicolo Casale. The two parties signed a three-year contract until June 30, 2028.

According to multiple Italian media reports, the buyout cost approximately 6.5 million euros.

The 27-year-old Nicolo Casale came from Verona's youth training and made his debut for Perugia in Serie B on September 16, 2017. He then played for Prato, South Tyrol, Venice, Empoli, Verona and Lazio, during which time he played in 2 Champions League games, 2 Europa League games, 4 UEFA Cup games, 87 Serie A games, 45 Serie B games and 12 Italian Cup games, winning a Serie B championship with the team.

In August 2024, Casale was loaned to Bologna by Lazio for 1.5 million euros. So far, he has played 21 times for Bologna and won the Italian Cup with the team not long ago. Bologna also automatically triggered the buyout clause in Casale's contract because it qualified for the European Cup next season.

However, Casale has never been able to establish a starting position in the tactical system of coach Vincenzo Italiano, who prefers to use the central defender combination of Sam Bekema and John Lukumi.