Even if Ayoze Perez refuses to say it out loud, although he’s come very close to doing so, it’s widely expected that the Spanish forward will leave St James’ Park at the end of the season.
The question for Newcastle United and their fans is: where to?
While a return to Spain is something the 25-year-old has made clear would be a preference, other options could be presented to him once the season is over, including a transfer to Italy.
This is what Corriere dello Sport report on Tuesday, explaining Pérez is Inter’s ‘new idea’, as they plan their summer overhaul.
Talking up his ability, the Italian newspaper also believe the former Spain U21 international is ‘expected’ to have a €30m clause in his contract, but should an offer come in from a ‘great team’, like one playing in the Champions League (of which Inter are hopeful), an exit would be facilitated with a potentially lower price (€20-25m).
The above tactic appears to be mainly present as a ‘rival’ deterrent, meaning should a team in the Premier League of similar stature want Pérez, they would have to pay more.
Either way, before Inter make a move, their first port of call is working out how they want to attack going forward, which means dealing with the likes of Ivan Perisic and Mauro Icardi first.
Once they know the future of their current players, they can start planning replacements, which is where the Newcastle forward could come in.
