Joaquin Correa has agreed a £65,000-a-week deal at Inter Milan after Premier League giants Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Everton made bids for the Lazio winger, as reported by FC Inter News.
Lazio owner Claudio Lotito is the sort of man who’d make Daniel Levy look like a soft touch.
So signing players from the Biancocelesti can often feel like an exercise in pulling teeth, with Lotito demanding £90 million for Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and similarly prohibitive fees for Luis Alberto and Ciro Immobile.
So, with three years left on his contract, Lazio were never going to shake Correa by the hand, wish him luck and book the Argentina international an Uber to the nearest airport.
Arsenal, Everton and Spurs fail to tempt Joaquin Correa to the Premier League
Earlier this week, Everton became the third Premier League club to have a bid rejected by the Stadio Olimpico outfit.
Tottenham offered £25 million in July for a player Fabio Paratici also wanted at Juventus, while Arsenal were willing to let Lucas Torreira return to Italy as part of a player-plus-cash swap deal.
Correa, however, remains a Lazio player – four weeks after new head coach Maurizio Sarri admitted the former Sevilla winger had asked to leave.
“I know the player has expressed his desire to leave,” said former Chelsea, Juventus and Napoli coach Sarri.
“I’d be happy if he changes his mind when he returns from the Copa America.”
Wishful thinking, Maurizio.
Correa’s stance hasn’t changed – but neither has Lazio’s.
According to FC Inter News, Correa’s agent has come to an agreement with Inter Milan over a £65,000-a-week contract at the San Siro. Personal terms were never likely to be the problem, however.
And Inter still haven’t agreed to pay the £30 million Lazio want, reluctant as they are to go above a £25 million threshold.
Then again, once the near-£100 million sale of Romelu Lukaku to Chelsea is made official, Inter will surely be able to part with another £5 million.
Then again, don’t bet against Lazio moving the goalposts again at the last minute.
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