You might have seen, over the past week or so, a couple of articles claiming that Inter could make a move for Manchester City’s Gabriel Jesus.
The idea would only take shape if Lautaro Martínez were to be sold to Barcelona or another big club of their ilk, meaning that until that move takes place, the Premier League club are fairly safe.
The Serie A side are big fans of the Brazilian, following him since the summer of 2016, back when he was still at Palmeiras, his side before Manchester City.
Pep Guardiola’s team managed to snatch Jesus for a relatively small fee of £31m (add-ons included), which was considerably less than what Inter offered.
We know this because FC Inter News had a chat with Alexandre Mattos, the Brazilian club’s general director between 2014-2019, who spoke to the Italian website about the side’s attempts to sign the now 23-year-old.
He said: “We had two meetings. Their offer was €45m. [The deal didn’t get done because] Gabriel had already spoken and given his word to Guardiola. There were four big European clubs after him: Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester City and Inter. Every option made him very happy.”
As for the idea that the Serie A side could make a move for Jesus in the near future, Mattos added: “It would be a great move. We are talking about a top player and an exemplary professional. If Inter manage to sign him, the team’s technical ability would undoubtedly increase.”
Since joining Manchester City, the player has become a regular in the Brazil national team, made 141 appearances for the Etihad club, scored 63 goals and assisted another 26.
