Inter director Piero Ausilio hints Milan also wanted David Frattesi, confirms talks with Chelsea to buy Romelu Lukaku outright, while Manchester United’s Andre Onana offer ‘does not reflect our expectations.’
Frattesi had the first part of his medical this evening after the fee was agreed with Sassuolo for €27m plus €5m in performance-related bonuses and ownership of striker Samuele Mulattieri.
“It was tough, because like all negotiations there are difficulties, even more so when it is Sassuolo,” said Ausilio, who then took a sideswipe at rivals Milan.
“Of course when a player is sold, all the other clubs who sought him out say they weren’t interested. There were quite a few interested, more than one or two, as the player improved a lot in recent years and drew the attention of many Italian clubs.
“We worked on it and were convincing, while the lad helped by considering Inter the best project and we were able to close this operation.”
There are some new priorities now, such as securing Lukaku on a permanent transfer from Chelsea after his initial loan and finding out what will happen to Onana.
“I don’t like to talk about timing, but about ideas. Lukaku is an idea of ours, but he is a Chelsea-owned player. The dialogue never stopped with them, we know he cannot be handed to us for a second season on loan, so we are evaluating if it is possible to buy him outright.
“He knows full well that we want to bring him back here, we’ll see if we can find the solution with Chelsea.”
As for Onana, Manchester United made their first formal offer of circa €45m including bonuses and it was rejected outright.
“At this moment, Onana is Inter’s goalkeeper. He is one of the strengths of this squad and we would like to keep going with strong players.
“If opportunities arise, we will evaluate them, but as of today they either have not arrived or do not reflect our expectations. That is all for Onana, the pre-season training retreat starts on July 13 and he will turn up for that. If over the next 15-20 days there are movements, then we will evaluate them.”
The club saluted players who have left as free agents, like Roberto Gagliardini, Danilo D’Ambrosio and Milan Skriniar, but there has been no message saying goodbye to Handanovic.
This is because he is discussing the possibility of a new contract, even though he is a free agent, and that is tied to the future of Onana.
“The contract has expired, but we are making valuations based also on what we will do in the next few days,” Ausilio told reporters.
Anatoliy Trubin of Shakhtar Donetsk has been mentioned as a possible heir to Onana should the goalkeeper be sold this summer.
“He is a talent like many other players, Inter have the duty to observe and monitor those players, and Trubin is one of them.”