Inter Milan have withdrawn from the race to sign Porto striker Mehdi Taremi.
This according to Belgian journalist Sacha Tavolieri, who reported in a tweet that the Portuguese’s asking price of €30 million is tok high for the Nerazzurri, and that they will not make any more attempts to sign the 31-year-old Iranian international.
Taremi has been one of the names who has emerged on Inter’s shortlist of possible targets in the striker position.
The 31-year-old ticks a number of boxes in terms of the profile that the Nerazzurri are looking for.
Inter coach Simone Inzaghi has always made clear that his priority is signing a striker who has the strength and size to act as a target man and a reference point in the final third.
Moreover, Taremi has been in the form of his career over the past couple season. The Iranian was the top scorer for Portugal’s top flight last season.
Inter Milan Pull Out Of The Race To Sign Mehdi Taremi
According to Tavolieri, however, Inter have decided against moving for Taremi.
There are a couple of reasons for this.
The first concerns the question of a fee. Porto have reportedly dug in their heels in asking for a fee of €30 million to sell their talisman.
Reports have suggested that Inter have gone as high as around €20-25 million with their offers. However, these have not been enough to meet Porto’s demands.
And evidently the Nerazzurri have decided that it is not worth going that high with a bid for a player of Taremi’s age.
Moreover, as Tavolieri notes, Inter also factored in Taremi’s availability.
The Iranian will be away with his national team at the AFC Asian Cup in January and February.
For the Nerazzurri’s this would mean missing Taremi for several matches during a key month of the season. Evidently the Nerazzurri saw this as a sufficient concern to decide against signing the 31-year-old.
