Inter’s hopes of signing Arturo Vidal appeared to receive a boost this morning when Barcelona head coach Ernesto Valverde refused to rule out a departure for the midfielder.
Vidal was left out of Valverde’s match-day squad for tomorrow’s opening La Liga fixture away to Athletic Bilbao, leading to speculation he might be on the way out.
Antonio Conte spent three years working with the Chilean international at Juventus and has reportedly asked Inter to chase a last-minute deal.
Valverde told reporters: “I’m counting on Vidal, he’ll continue with us, he’s our player. But we’ll see what happens.”
Inter were also linked with a move for Vidal’s teammate Ivan Rakitic earlier this summer, albeit the Croatian appears less likely to leave Barca at present.
Valverde was asked about his future as well and again kept his cards fairly close to his chest.
He added: “Ivan is an important player. He has been key for the last two seasons and we hope he can continue to be so. At the moment he’s a player in our squad.”
Vidal scored three goals and created seven assists as Barca won another La Liga title last year and reached the Champions League semi-finals.
Rakitic provided five goals and 10 assists in all competitions, one of which came in a 2-0 win against Inter in the Champions League group stage.
