Inter suffered a blow in their pursuit of Romelu Lukaku today after Manchester United slapped an €83 million price tag on the forward, according to Sky Sport.
Piero Ausilio met the Red Devils’ executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward in London to officially begin negotiations for the Belgian.
United want the same £75 million fee they paid Everton to sign Lukaku in 2017, because they have not put the player up for sale.
Inter have no intention to give up, though, and could soon make an offer that edges towards that figure through a series of add-ons.
Lukaku has made it clear to United that he wants a new experience and Inter are the club he has chosen to join.
But United are renowned for driving a hard bargain with clubs that want to sign their players, meaning Ausilio faces an uphill struggle to lower their asking price.
Inter are considering alternatives should their pursuit for Lukaku fail, with Eintracht Frankfurt’s Ante Rebic named as a fallback option.
