Antonio Conte will not let Samuele Longo leave Inter this month until the Nerazzurri have signed another striker, according to FcInterNews.it.
The striker has already agreed a loan deal with Spanish side Deportivo La Coruna, who would be obliged to purchase Longo permanently if they earned promotion to La Liga.
However, Conte cannot afford to sanction his departure until Inter replace him numerically, because as things stand he needs Longo on the bench for Inter’s first Serie A match against Lecce.
Ivan Perisic’s suspension means Lautaro Martinez, Matteo Politano and Sebastiano Esposito would otherwise be the only three players available up front on 26 August.
Inter met Longo’s agent Tullio Tinti at their offices in Milan today and reiterated their head coach’s current predicament.
Deportivo would like the deal to happen quickly but it seems the Galician outfit will have to wait a little longer.
Tinti also took the opportunity to discuss Alessandro Bastoni, another of his clients, receiving highly positive feedback from Inter on the defender.
Bastoni has received several offers this summer but will not be allowed to leave, as Conte intends to count upon him in his back three.
Matteo Darmian is another player managed by Tinti and his name was mentioned too, as the full-back seeks a return home after falling out of favour at Manchester United.
Inter and Juventus are both monitoring the Italy international, who played under Conte for the Azzurri at Euro 2016, but no significant developments were reported.