Inter are growing increasingly suspicious that Juventus are encouraging Roma not to sell Edin Dzeko to the Nerazzurri, according to Corriere dello Sport.
Inter are in a strong position with the Bosnian having agreed personal terms a long time ago, but the Giallorossi are not budging on their asking price.
If Roma’s position stays rigid then Beppe Marotta is willing to wait another year and sign Dzeko on a free transfer in 2020, when the 33-year-old will be out of contract.
“The problem with this strategy is that the team Marotta, Piero Ausilio and Antonio Conte are putting together would have a piece missing,” the paper explained this morning.
“Dzeko is supposed to start alongside Romelu Lukaku in Conte’s 3-5-2 system and without him they would need to resort to a Plan B, which at the moment Inter don’t have.”
Roma and Juventus completed a swap deal last week involving Luca Pellegrini and Leonardo Spinazzola, and the clubs appear to be in talks for Gonzalo Higuain as well.
Juventus intend to replace Higuain with Mauro Icardi and it is not implausible they are urging Roma to stay firm during talks with Inter.
Dzeko did not expect his future to still be in doubt at the start of July and thought he would be starting preseason with his new club, not his old one.
“The Bosnian wants Inter to accelerate talks and finalise the deal,” Corriere added.