Antonio Conte has very clear ideas about which players should stay at Inter next season, according to a report from a leading Italian broadcaster.
Sky Sport Italia (via FcInter1908.it) said Conte would ask Steven Zhang to promise not to sell six players, in order to commit his future to the club.
Inter’s boss is adamant the club cannot lose Alessandro Bastoni, Milan Skriniar, Achraf Hakimi, Nicolo Barella, Romelu Lukaku or Lautaro Martinez.
Lautaro and Bastoni are subject to transfer speculation at present, the report warned, but this is the spine of Inter’s side and Conte would never agree to sell any of them.
These are the conditions Conte will discuss with Zhang when they meet for talks in the coming days, with Inter’s head coach seeking reassurance over how competitive the squad will be next season.
Inter are two days through a crucial week for the club’s future, with Suning set to secure a financing deal from America to address the Nerazzurri’s short-term financial concerns.
The club can respect their various payment deadlines once they have finalised the deal, which should be with Oaktree Capital Management, but that wouldn’t solve all their financial woes.
Inter will still need to cut costs and reduce their wage bill ahead of next season, and this is one of the discussion points that will be raised when Zhang meets Conte.
