Inter’s bid to sign Romelu Lukaku remains an uphill battle as Manchester United are showing no signs of dropping their asking price, Corriere dello Sport reported today.

The Red Devils’ executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has told the Nerazzurri they must pay €83 million to sign the striker, who missed Saturday’s friendly in Singapore.

However, Inter would then have to pay an additional €5 million on top of that figure, because United must hand Everton €5 million of any fee they receive.

The clubs struck their agreement back when United signed Lukaku in 2017 and it would mean his price tag is effectively €88 million.

Beppe Marotta and Piero Ausilio unofficially submitted an offer worth €60 million plus bonuses this week, but this was rejected out of hand by United.

The Times yesterday claimed Inter had then increased their bid, but the Nerazzurri have denied making an additional offer.

Antonio Conte’s desperation to sign Lukaku obliges Inter to keep trying for the 26-year-old, but it remains to be seen how much money they can afford to spend.

Mauro Icardi’s sale would give them a hand in raising more funds, but the striker is in no hurry to make a decision on his future.

Joao Miranda will soon accept a move to Inter’s sister club Jiangsu Suning, but the deal will only be worth a small fee.

Lukaku missed Saturday’s friendly between the clubs in Singapore after sitting out United’s final training session, but manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer told reporters there were ‘no updates’ on a move away.