Inter are set to challenge Milan and Chelsea for the signature of former Shakhtar Donetsk winger Bernard, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.
The Brazilian, 25, made 157 appearances for the Ukrainian outfit between 2013 and 2018 but is currently a free agent after his contract expired in June, and is searching for a new club in Europe ahead of the coming season.
Until Saturday it looked like it would be a straight fight between Milan and Chelsea to secure the forward’s services, but according to the Milanese publication Inter have now reentered the race after making contact with the player’s agent a few months back.
“Ultimately [Piero] Ausilio moved away from Bernard to focus on Malcom instead, before signing Matteo Politano to reinforce Inter’s options out wide. End of the story? Until yesterday it seemed so.
“Because just when it looked like the player was destined to move either to Milan or Chelsea, the Nerazzurri have reappeared on the scene, sending a simple message to one of his agents: ‘hold back a minute before signing for anyone, we’re interested as well.'”
Despite this, the paper believe that Inter’s manoeuvre could be more an attempt to disrupt their city rivals’ transfer campaign than to register a genuine interest for the player, although they add that people within the club have strenuously denied this claim. Milan remain in pole position for the moment.