Inter Milan are ready to sign Christian Eriksen from Tottenham now rather than wait until he’s available on a free in the summer, in claims from Italy which completely contradict others from Thursday.
The Italian club have emerged as one of the frontrunners to sign the Danish midfielder, whose contract at Tottenham expires at the end of the season.
Reports yesterday had suggested they were willing to wait to avoid having to pay a transfer fee this month, but Corriere Dello Sport say otherwise.
According to the newspaper, Inter want Eriksen ‘immediately’ and have already ‘earmarked’ €25m for ‘badges and commissions’ to get a deal done.
They report that the ‘prevailing idea’ is that it will be easier to sign Eriksen now than when his contract expires in six months when the competition would be more ‘fierce and prestigious’.
Inter’s first ‘concrete’ moves came a couple of months ago, with Piero Ausilio travelling to London in mid-November and hoping for a ‘summit’ with Tottenham.
It was during this meeting that they showed their willingness to buy Eriksen in January and ensure that Spurs would receive some money rather than see him leave on a free.
The idea was that Eriksen would be a ‘gift’ for Champions League qualification although they have since been knocked out of the competition.
That has not changed their stance, though, with €25m ‘already allocated’ for a transfer fee and commissions to the player and his agent.
That offer is still ‘on the table’ with Inter having worked the finances so that the move would be ‘sustainable’ long-term.
Eriksen would earn around €9-10m per year, the same as Romelu Lukaku, but Inter have also budgeted for this to ensure they can ‘mitigate its impact on the balance sheet.’
