Kaloyan Ivanov, agent of Nikola Iliev, responded to the statements made by Botev Plovdiv manager Asen Karaslavov, who denied the news that the 15-year-old will be joining Inter, in an interview with Italian media outlet FcInterNews yesterday.

“Nikola is in fact already an Inter player. He and I have made this decision and the boy is very happy. There’s no doubt about that. We have reached an agreement with the Nerazzurri and when the borders will be reopened again, we will sign the contract and put it on paper.”

Both Dutch side Ajax and Portuguese giants Benfica were both keen to sign the 15-year-old Bulgarian midfielder, who has impressed many with his performances in training and breakout into the first team. Iliev has made two appearances so far this season for Botev Plovdiv in the Bulgarian topflight, for a total of 77 minutes. The player is considering one of the most exciting but unknown talents in European football at the moment and Inter are hoping to develop the player in their youth system.

Inter CEO Beppe Marotta has identified the importance of a strong youth system and club president Steven Zhang has agreed that the Nerazzurri must look to develop young players. The results of this can be seen this season, with coach Antonio Conte promoting 17-year-old Italian talent Sebastiano Esposito to the first team.