Inter Milan sporting director Piero Ausilio discussed several transfer stories, including the saga of Romelu Lukaku.
The Belgian bomber once again finds him at Chelsea following the expiry of his loan stint at the Giuseppe Meazza.
Nevertheless, all parties are still determined to find a solution that ends the striker’s miserable time at Stamford Bridge.
For his part, Ausilio confirms Inter’s desire to maintain Lukaku. He reveals that the club could attempt to purchase the player on a permanent basis.
“Lukaku is one of our important objectives. The whole sporting department wants him at Inter,” said the sporting director while chatting with reporters via FcInterNews.
“But for now he’s a Chelsea player. The dialogue remains open. They don’t want to send the player on loan. They said we must buy him. So we are now evaluating whether there is a possibility to sign him outright.
“I don’t like talking about priorities. Lukaku knows very well that we want to bring him back here. Let’s see if we can find a solution.”
As we reported earlier today, selling Andre Onana to Man United could be the key to unlocking Lukaku’s deal. But Ausilio insists that the Cameroonian goalkeeper remains an Inter player until receiving a satisfying offer.
“Right now, Onana is Inter’s goalkeeper. He’s one of the strengths of the team and we would like to continue with strong players.
“If opportunities arise, we’ll evaluate and listen, but up till now, they haven’t arrived or haven’t met our expectations.
“Onana’s topic ends here. The pre-season starts on July 13 and he will rejoin the group. If something comes up in the next 15-20 days, we will evaluate it. Right now there are no dates or deadlines or the desire to deprive ourselves of any player.”
Ausilio discussed the contract renewals of Hakan Calhanoglu until 2027 and Alessandro Bastoni until 2028, both made official on Wednesday.
“We had been preparing the renewals for some time. We are overjoyed because we want to build the present and the future with them.
“It was only right to extend their contracts also due to the importance they had in recent seasons.”
A reporter asked the Inter director whether Udinese youngster Lazar Samardzic remains an option. Ausilio was coy with his answer.
“We already have several players who can play in his role. So first we have to evaluate some outings.
“Afterwards, we can start thinking about how to complete an already strong and competitive department. There will be six midfielders when the season starts.”
On the goalkeepers’ front, Ausilio revealed that the club is considering renewing Samir Handanovic’s contract while Shakhtar Donetsk’s Anatoliy Trubin could is in the club’s sight.
“Samir’s contract has expired, but we are evaluating the situation based on what we will do in the next few days.
“Trubin is a talent, like so many other players. Inter have a duty to observe and follow up, nothing more.”
Inter Milan Sporting Director Piero Ausilio Says The club Is Considering Buying Romelu Lukaku From Chelsea
The sporting director admits that the negotiations to sign Davide Frattesi from Sassuolo were tough, but says the player lent the Nerazzurri a hand.
“In all negotiations there are always difficulties. There were other clubs interested in Frattesi. He’s a strong player who plays with the national team.
“But we worked hard to sign him, perhaps we were more convincing, so the player gave us a hand because he felt that our project is the best.”
Finally, Ausilio played down the controversy caused by Marcelo Brozovic on social media, preferring to focus on his contribution on the pitch during his eight years at Inter.
“I’m not interested in social platforms, I’m interested in what Brozovic gave us during eight years at Inter.
“We thank him for what he offered, but now Brozovic is the past. The present and the future are Frattesi and the others who remained”.