Inter Sporting Director Piero Ausilio met with the agent of Brighton and Hove Albion coach Roberto De Zerbi yesterday evening whilst he was in Barcelona.
This according to Italian news outlet Gazzetta.it, who report that the 43-year-old’s agent Edoardo Crnjar was present at a meeting between the Nerazzurri executive and Barcelona Sporting Director Mateu Alemany yesterday in Spain.
Ausilio was in Barcelona yesterday, where the main purpose of his visit appeared to be to conduct a meeting with his Barcelona counterpart Alemany.
At the meeting, the Gazzetta report that it is not entirely clear which names were under discussions, although they note that Inter were rebuffed in their interest in signing defender Ronald Araujo.
The Uruguayan is valued at €70 million, well outside of the Neerazzurri’s price range, whilst the Gazzetta notes that the Blaugranas would have little interest in losing hold of him.
Araujo’s current contract with Barcelona is set to run out at the end of June 2026 as well, and so the La Liga leaders would hardly be in any rush to cash in on him.
Meanwhile, the Gazzetta reports that the possibility of a swap of midfielders Marcelo Brozovic and Franck Kessie may well also have been discussed.
Given that the Croat increasingly appears to be leaving Inter at the end of the season, and is appreciated by the Blaugranas, there could be a player exchange on the cards with Kessie a long-term target for the Nerazzurri and not quite having settled in at the Camp Nou.
Just as interesting as the meeting between the two clubs’ sporting directors, however, could be the fact that agent Crnjar was present as an intermediary during the talks, the Gazzetta suggests.
The newspaper notes that the agent represents current Brighton and former Sassuolo and Shakhtar Donestk coach De Zerbi.
Therefore, the Gazzetta notes, it is very probable that the meeting would have also touched on the coach’s future, as he is known to be one of the Nerazzurri’s main targets to replace Simone Inzaghi at the end of the season.
