Why Inter might have to sell Lukaku
Inter’s struggle selling their outcasts has seemingly pushed them into accepting a huge €130m offer from Chelsea for Romelu Lukaku.
Directors Beppe Marotta and Piero Ausilio had made it clear just days after securing the Serie A title that they needed to bring in €80m from the transfer market this summer and cut the wage bill by 20 per cent.
They sold Achraf Hakimi to Paris Saint-Germain for €60m plus up to another €11m in performance-related bonuses, a big profit on the €41m paid to get him from Real Madrid less than a year ago.
The plan at the time had been to sell some of their unwanted players, many of whom were on loan last season, and that way make up the rest to balance the books.
However, Joao Mario got into such a complicated situation between Benfica and Sporting CP that Inter ended up terminating his contract by mutual consent just to get his salary off their bill.
Arturo Vidal is rejecting all offers, although the club hopes he can eventually accept a return to South America for Flamengo.
Radja Nainggolan is desperate to join Cagliari and could go in an exchange deal with Nahitan Nandez.
Dalbert ended up joining Cagliari on loan with an option to buy, while goalkeeper Ionut Radu has not yet found a new club, meaning they currently have four shot-stoppers on the books.
Inter are still missing a left-back to replace Ashley Young, although Federico Dimarco might just be kept after returning from the loan at Verona.