Inter linked with Alfred Duncan; five years after he reportedly neared £7m Sunderland switch

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Sunderland may regret not signing Alfred Duncan when the opportunity arose.

According to a report from Gianluca di Marzio, Inter Milan are trying to re-sign Sassuolo’s Alfred Duncan – five years after they reportedly weighed up selling him to Sunderland in a deal worth just £7 million.

The Ghana international has been in decent form for Sassuolo this past season, making 26 Serie A appearances as the Italian minnows once again defied the odds with an impressive 11th place finish.

Duncan has been a target for top Premier League clubs in the past, with Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur reportedly keen on bringing him in for an eight-figure fee in recent years. (Calcio Mercato).

But the club who probably have the most regret about him is Sunderland, considering the player Duncan has become and the wretched downward spiral the Black Cats have endured over the past two years.

While the 25-year-old was at Inter Milan, the Italian giants were reportedly looking to sell him to raise funds for a big-money transfer involving Radja Nainggolan and Sunderland were at the top of the list.

Football Italia reports how they were keen to sell him to Sunderland, who were then under the guidance of controversial Italian Paolo di Canio, and they were asking for what now seems a bargain £7 million.

The Black Cats obviously did not bring him in, and their decision not to invest in quality young players such as Duncan ultimately caught up with them as they found themselves with a bloated, ageing squad on big wages.

Sunderland were subsequently relegated from the Premier League in the 2016-17 campaign, and the squad they had put together was such a mess that they were relegated again this past season from the Championship.

The Mackems will now look to bounce back from League One, and ironically it seems they want to go down the route of utilising young, hungry players in order to do so.

Duncan has the ability to return to Inter and shine in their upcoming Champions League squad and, with years still ahead of him, the Nerazzurri club may have to spend big in their quest to bring him back.