Benfica have rejected an offer worth €22 million from Inter Milan for defender Morato.

This according to Portuguese newspaper A Bola, via FCInterNews. They claim that the Nerazzurri put in a bid for the Brazilian but that Benfica do not consider him for sale unless a very high offer arrives.

It is no secret that Inter are trying to sign a defender before the end of the summer transfer window.

Nerazzurri coach Simone Inzaghi openly admitted that the defensive depth is not sufficient at the moment.

The reason for this is an injury to Tajon Buchanan. The Canadian will miss the first few months of the season.

Buchanan is a wingback. However, his injury means that Carlos Augusto will have to cover in that position, rather than deputizing in defense as he often did last season.

Accordingly, Inter have prioritized signing a defender who can back up Alessandro Bastoni on the left side of the back three.

Benfica Reject Inter Milan Bid For Morato

There have been a number of possible solutions for Inter in defense.

There had been the idea of an experienced stopgap solution on a free transfer. The Berazzyrri considered the likes of Ricardo Rodriguez and Mario Hermoso.

Then, Inter had reportedly been on the verge of a deal for defender Juan Cabal before he instead joined Juventus.

Meanwhile the likes of Zenit St. Petersburg’s Robert Renan, Arsenal’s Jakub Kiwior, and Genoa’s Johan Vazquez have also been on the Nerazzurri’s radar.

More recently, links have emerged to Nantes defender Nathan Zeze, Dinamo Zagreb defender Mauro Perkovic, and Valencia defender Yarek Gasiorowski.

And according to Portuguese newspaper A Bola, Inter have also sounded out a move for defender Morato.

The newspaper claims that the Nerazzurri made an offer to Benfica for the 24-year-old.

This would be worth an initial fee of €18 million. Then, there would be a further €4 million, taking the total value of the bid to €22 million.

However, A Bola report, Benfica rejected the offer out of hand.

The Portuguese giants would expect a much higher offer to sell Morato, A Bola anticipate.