Inter have decided to keep three of their squad players from last season’s title-winning defence, according to a report in the Italian media tonight.
FcInterNews.it said the Nerazzurri would offer new deals to Andrea Ranocchia, Danilo D’Ambrosio and Ashley Young, all of whom were about to become free agents when their contracts expired on June 30.
Inter president Steven Zhang is set to return to China in the next 24 hours and he has left Beppe Marotta, Piero Ausilio and Dario Baccin in charge of proceeding with the club’s transfer business.
The first step towards cutting costs at Inter will be to sign the above three players down to new contracts with reduced salaries.
Ranocchia has always prioritised staying at Inter despite receiving offers from other clubs in recent weeks, the report revealed.
The centre-back hoped for a two-year deal but will settle for a one-year extension, with his wages fixed at €1 million plus bonuses (he earned €1.5 million last season).
D’Ambrosio will stay at Inter because the club exercised their automatic one-year renewal option recently, but also because he was not tempted by any of the offers he received from elsewhere.
The 32-year-old was earning €2.2 million until June 30 and had hoped to rise to €2.5 million, but he will be reduced to €1.8 million plus bonuses.
Young’s future is related to Ivan Perisic, because the Englishman is considered more suited to playing in a left wing-back position than the Croatian.
He would also earn less than Perisic, provided he accepted a new deal which cut his salary from the current figure of €3 million plus bonuses.
Inter have decided to keep the players that helped them win Serie A rather than taking gambles on players who might not be ready to make the difference immediately.
