It’s taken long enough, but Gazzetta dello Sport believe this week will be the week Inter make their first official moves for Manchester United’s Romelu Lukaku.
The striker has already made it clear he would ideally like to try something new next season, talking up Antonio Conte in the process, and the Serie A side are now looking to use that to their advantage.
Gazzetta reveal that Lukaku ‘explicitly told’ Ed Woodward as early as May, when everyone set off on holiday, that he wanted out of Old Trafford, already aware of the former Chelsea manager’s interest in his services.
Following weeks of indirect contact between the two clubs during which Inter were trying to get a feel for the situation, finding out the hard way Manchester United were not interested in either Ivan Perisic or Mauro Icardi, Inter now know a transfer would require at least €60m.
The Glazers are intent on not making too much of a loss, and €60m, after two years of contract (he was bought for €85m) should do the trick.
The Red Devils wanted €85m to start with, but with no offers arriving on their desk and Lukaku’s clear intent on moving elsewhere, the price has seemingly dropped.
Over at Inter, Beppe Marotta and Piero Ausilio are working on an offer that would ‘meet’ Manchester United’s demands without affecting their transfer plans too much.
Conte considers Lukaku ‘central’ to his project and those in charge of sorting out transfers are trying to see if they can get their manager his key piece by July 7th, date when the team meet for pre-season in Lugano.
A race against the clock has now started, and there’s just over two weeks to get something done? Can Inter do it? Guess we’ll have to wait and see.
