Inter Milan CEO Calls Napoli Star ‘A Transfer Opportunity’ & Says Contract Talks With Argentine Superstar ‘On Hold For Now’

Inter Milan CEO Beppe Marotta feels that Piotr Zielinski is a transfer opportunity, and that contract talks with Lautaro Martinez are currently on hold.

The Nerazzurri executive spoke to Italian broadcaster DAZN ahead of this evening’s Serie A clash with Juventus, via FCInterNews, also noting the significance of the match for the title race.

This evening, Inter take on Juventus in the Derby d’Italia.

The match promises to be a hugely significant one in the context of the Serie A table, with just one point separating the Nerazzurri and the Bianconeri at the top.

At the same time, there is plenty going on off the pitch.

Reports suggest that Inter are getting very close to completing two major free transfer signings for next summer. Porto’s Mehdi Taremi, and Napoli’s Zielinski.

And there are also always contract situations of key players at the club to attend to.

The likes of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Matteo Darmian, and Federico Dimarco all signed new deals at the end of last year.

But an even more important extension has yet to become official. Nerazzurri captain Lautaro Martinez has yet to put pen to paper on a new contract, despite reports of talks for several months now.

Marotta: Zielinski A Transfer Opportunity, Lautaro Contract Talks On Hold

As far as Inter’s reported interest in Napoli midfielder Zielinski, Marotta said that “Given that Inter will have even more competitions to play in next season with the Club World Cup, we’re looking for a more competitive squad.”

“We want to have starters, and co-starters,” the Nerazzurri CEO continued.

“We have an obligation to go after transfer opportunities like Zielinski,” Marotta said.

“We’ll see if we can make it happen. But we have the skills for it.”

And as far as contract talks with Martinez, Marotta said that “They’re on hold for now, because of all the commitments on the pitch.”

“We’ll start them up again, calmly.”

The Inter CEO said that with Martinez, “We have a brilliant relationship. So I don’t see any reason to worry to much.”

Marotta also responded to the words of Barcelona President Joan Laporta, who suggested that Inter and AC Milan would eventually become involved once against in the Super League project.

“We don’t want to deal with political issues now,” the Inter CEO made clear.

“We’re focused on matters on the pitch.”

“Later, we’ll address these other issues. Which also concern other Italian clubs.”

“We’ll talk about them when the time is right,” Marotta said of any talk of the Super League.

And the Inter CEO also had words regarding the importance of this evening’s Derby d’Italia match.

He said that as far as its significance for the Serie A title, the match will be worth “A lot. But not everything.”

“This match always has a particular appeal, because it is the Derby d’Italia. A match between two very strong teams.”

“I think it’s an important test of us in terms of our performance,” Marotta said. “A win with a convincing performance would give us greater self-belief.”

But the Inter CEO also cautioned that “There are still a lot of points on offer. And the matches against the so-called provincial teams can often make a mockery of predictions.”