Sporting Lisbon's Bulgarian striker Valeri Bojinov will be certainly loaned out to Italian side Lecce for the next six months, according to Bulgarian media.

Sporting and the Italian club have already reached an agreement on the deal and Bojinov is expected to sign his contract with Lecce on Monday, gong.bg has reported.

It was the Bulgarian forward's agent, Gerry Palomba, who insisted on his move back to Italy. Santander, Dynamo Kyiv, Trabzonspor and Bulgarian champions Litex were also said to eye the unsettled Sporting player.

Bojinov is well acquainted with Italian football, having played for Juventus, Parma, Fiorentina and Lecce – the club in which he launched his professional career.

During the January 19 Sporting Lisbon cup game against lower-tier Moreirense, Bojinov stirred a scandal that apparently put an end to his stay at Estadio Jose Alvarade.

The Bulgarian international decisively pushed aside his team's habitual penalty-taker Matias Fernandez, only to see his vital injury-time penalty kick saved. The match ended in a 1:1 draw.