Inter have a serious money problem that’s bringing in offers for players. Liverpool should get involved.
As you’ve probably heard, Internazionale are on the brink of selling Romelu Lukaku to Chelsea. The Belgian will fetch a massive fee of around £98m. That’s just under the British record £100m Manchester City paid for Jack Grealish two days ago.
But as the Athletic point out, things might not stop there. Inter are in a financial mess, even after selling Achraf Hakimi to Paris Saint-Germain for a fortune.
They struck an investment deal with Oaktree Capital Management for roughly £235m but have received only a fifth. That leaves them at least £150m short on what they hoped for.
Inter need to cut their wage bill by up to 20%, per the article, and while Lukaku’s sale will go a long way, it’s still not enough. The Scudetto winners are struggling right now – and maybe that should tempt Liverpool.
Inter invite offers
There are two standout players at Inter now that Hakimi has left and Lukaku appears to be off – Lautaro Martinez and Nicolo Barella.
Both tasted Serie A success last season and followed it up with international trophies. Both are young but hugely talented players already and we’ve talked about each before.
Martinez would be a pretty special signing up top. He ticks several boxes that Liverpool love as well as delivering goals.
If he’s available for anything like a discount price, Liverpool surely need to knock on Inter’s door.
But that counts double for Barella. Liverpool have been linked with him a lot over the last few months and for good reason – he’s a magnificent midfielder.
Barella will almost certainly go on to become one of the world’s best in his position if he isn’t already. There isn’t really a better player to build your midfield around right now.
And with Gini Wijnaldum gone and Thiago & Jordan Henderson both 30, Liverpool need to think about that kind of thing. Barella would be a sensational signing and one that might just be attainable.