Roma sporting director Tiago Pinto is in Milan to agree a swap deal with Inter involving Edin Dzeko and Alexis Sanchez, according to an Italian media report this afternoon.
As per Il Tempo‘s online edition, Pinto is trying to arrange a loan swap until the end of this season, after Dzeko fell out with Giallorossi head coach Paulo Fonseca last week.
Everyone involved has given their approval in principal to the deal, but it will not be easy to reach an agreement due to wage complications.
Dzeko and Sanchez’s salaries are more or less identical, but in reality Sanchez’s salary costs Inter much less than Dzeko’s would if they signed him because it is subject to Italy’s ‘decreto crescita’, a law which allows players who played abroad for two years prior to their arrival in Italy a 50% tax reduction.
In addition to this, Inter’s corporate issues must be taken into consideration, with all transfer activity thought to be blocked while prospective new owners BC Partners conduct their due diligence of the club’s accounts.
Roma consider an exchange with Inter to be the ideal solution to avoid having to manage the tension between Dzeko and Fonseca for the rest of the season, and if it were up to them the deal would be done immediately.
It remains to be seen if the clubs can actually push it over the line, though, with so many economic obstacles to overcome.