AC Milan are ready to go head-to-head with Inter Milan to sign Porto and Iran striker Mehdi Taremi during the January transfer window.
This according to today’s print edition of Turin-based newspaper Tuttosport, via FCInterNews, who report that Porto will nevertheless be reluctant to sell Taremi.
What looks clear is that Taremi will likely leave Porto in the foreseeable future.
The only question is when.
The 31-year-old’s current contract with the Portuguese giants runs until the end of next June.
Therefore, Taremi can leave Porto on a free transfer next summer.
But on the other hand, a departure for the Iranian may come even before then.
Porto could decide to cash in during the January window of this season.
AC Milan & Inter Both Want To Sign Mehdi Taremi In January
According to Tuttosport, Porto’s inclination is not to sell Taremi in January.
The newspaper anticipate that the Portuguese club feel that it would be preferable to keep hold of the 31-year-old until the end of the season for sporting reasons, even if it means losing him without a transfer fee when his contract runs out.
And that would particularly be the case if Porto reach the Champions League round of sixteen.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean that clubs won’t try to sign the Iranian anyway.
Inter are one of the main clubs with an interest in signing Taremi.
The injury to former Bologna and West Ham United striker Marko Arnautovic has left the Nerazzurri lacking some attacking depth.
Therefore, it is not out of the question that Inter could intervene in the transfer market as early as January.
And Taremi is undoubtedly one of the Nerazzurri’s main targets in this respect.
But Inter’s city rivals Milan also retain a strong interest in signing the 31-year-old Porto striker as well, report Tuttosport.
The Rossoneri had attempted to sign Taremi during the final days of the summer window. But a breakdown in communications with the player’s agents scuppered that deal.
Milan instead signed former Real Madrid and Eintracht Frankfurt striker Luka Jovic.
But so far, Jovic has not made much of an impact.
Therefore, Milan are also considering signing a striker in January.
And, Tuttosport report, the Rossoneri would also consider Taremi one of the top names on their list for January.