Could the reign of Inter Milan be over before it really began?
When Antonio Conte dragged the Nerazzurri to their first Scudetto triumph in more than a decade earlier this month, those long-suffering Interistas were dreaming of a prolonged era of domestic dominance to rival that of dethroned Juventus.
Instead, the newly crowned Serie A winners may have no choice but to sell the keys to the kingdom.
The reason? Inter’s Chinese owners find themselves in a perilous financial situation – one exacerbated by the pandemic – meaning Italy’s champions are under serious pressure to raise funds and fast.
But could Inter cash in on their future as well as their stars of the present?
Speaking this week, the agent of star centre-back Alessandro Bastoni claimed contract talks had hit an impasse.
He suggests the club have placed talks on the back burner until they find out whether they can afford to extend the deal of their 22-year-old Italy international.
With Bayern Munich and Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool willing to pay £43 million for a ball-playing centre-half (Gazzetta), who has been one of the biggest revelations of the 2020/21 European season, fears are growing that Inter could lose a man who was supposed to be leader of their team for years to come.
Here’s what some Inter fans had to say on Twitter about the rumours:
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