If Mousa Dembélé is still a Tottenham player come Saturday, then you can rest assured that Inter will do everything in their power to sign the Belgium international before the start of the season.
If no huge offer from China arrives Thursday or Friday, then the Serie A side will have a relatively stress free road ahead of them, with their only obstacle being convincing Daniel Levy to let his star go at a reasonable price.
As has been the case for the past month or so, therein lies the issue, as Inter aren’t prepared to meet the Tottenham chairman’s valuation of €30m this year.
However, as they have done multiple times in the past, the Italians will try and convince the selling club, in this case Spurs, to accept a loan (with an upfront fee) with a view to buy next season, therefore delaying the impact on their FFP balance.
This is what Gazzetta dello Sport are reporting on Thursday, but it appears they’ve missed the fact Dembélé’s contract runs out in 2019, meaning he’d be free to sign with any club come January.
Strangely enough, the next sentence suggests said formula, which is described as ‘magic’, is seen as the reason why they might struggle to sign a right-back like Matteo Darmian or Alessandro Florenzi, as their contracts also run out in 2019.
Why would it be an issue for them and not for Dembélé?
Would the Spurs and their midfielder agree to extend his contract another year just so that the loan with a view to buy to Inter can be pulled off?
We doubt that’s something Daniel Levy will want.
