Inter Milan will sell reported West Ham United target Henrique Dalbert for a knockdown fee of £9 million with the left-back not part of Antonio Conte’s plans, according to Inter News.
When Lucien Favre led an exciting Nice side to a third place finish in the 2016/17 Ligue 1 season, the expectation was a talented crop of youngsters would go their separate ways before establishing themselves among Europe’s elite.
But while the first half of that prophecy came true, with Nice losing star player after star player in resulting transfer windows, it’s fair to say only Alassane Plea has lived up to expectations away from the Rivieira.
Jean-Michel Seri and Maxime le Marchant flopped at Fulham, Vincent Koziello ended up playing second-tier football, and the less said about Mario Balotelli the better.
Dalbert, meanwhile, looked set to become one of the finest full-backs in Europe when he swapped Nice for Inter Milan in an £18 million deal three years ago.
Flash forward to the present day, however, and reports from Italy claim Inter would jump at the chance to sell the 27-year-old for half that price.
Dalbert has no part to play in Conte’s plans as the Nerazzuri, who finished second in Serie A and lost in the Europa League final, look to go one step further in 2020/21.
Dalbert has actually played more league games on loan at Fiorentina (31) than he has for Inter (24) since 2017.
FCInterNews reports West Ham are willing to offer the attack-minded left-back a fresh start, while Newcastle were linked too until Jamal Lewis arrived from Norwich City.
Dalbert wants assurances of first-team football after three years of struggle.
And, given Aaron Cresswell appears to be past his best while Arthur Masuaku can’t be relied on full-time, West Ham could be the ideal destination.
West Ham’s record transfers
- Sebastien Haller
£45 million
- Felipe Anderson
£41.5 million
- Marko Arnautovic
£25 million
- Pablo Fornals
£24 million
- Issa Diop
£22 million
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