Liverpool want Nicolo Barella, according to reports. It might take an unwanted departure to secure him, however.
InterLive claims Liverpool want Nicolo Barella this summer. They’re preparing an offer of around £56m, in fact.
Now, it’s obvious why Liverpool would do that. He’s a fantastic player, one of the best midfielders in Europen, and still only 24. Barella will only get better.
There’s a hitch, of course – Internazionale don’t want to sell. And why would they? It’s difficult to improve on Barella and they’re marching towards their first Scudetto in years.
The only way that changes is if they can have their cake and eat it, too. That situation might just exist.
One in, one out
FC Inter News, of TuttoMercatoWeb, claims Inter want Gini Wijnaldum. Antonio Conte rates him very highly and he’d be free, of course.
They have some behind-the-scenes work to do but if Wijnaldum is still available after that, they’re planning on moving.
Liverpool won’t want to lose Wijnaldum but the supposed £160k-a-week contract demand appears to be too much for them. Instead, they’ll lose him for nothing.
But that might just be their way in for Barella. It creates a situation where the Italians could get £56m for a player and immediately replace him with an elite midfielder.
Effectively, they get £56m and remain just as good. That’s a tempting scenario for any club.
It’s also the only way we see them entertaining the idea of selling Barella. Wijnaldum is a unique prospect this summer, given he’ll cost nothing but carries years of incredible experience and quality.
Ordinarily, you’d pay a small fortune to sign him. So if Inter do get him, we think they might just be open to also getting a windfall of cash.
That’s certainly one way Liverpool can come out as winners over this contract expiry.
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