Inter’s hopes of selling Dalbert to Lyon suffered a blow last night when the French club’s president Jean-Michel Aulas played down their interest.

The Brazilian made just 11 appearances for the Nerazzurri in the 2018-19 campaign, failing to improve on his negative debut campaign after signing from Nice.

Lyon were rumoured to have offered Inter €18 million for the full-back, but Aulas outlined two potential stumbling blocks for the deal.

“What we’re worried about is Ligue 1’s rules on signing non-EU players,” he told RMC Sport.

“We already have three in our squad after bringing in Jean Lucas so we have to make a careful decision about our fourth slot.

“There’s also the fact Dalbert’s value has dropped significantly at Inter due to him not playing much.

“Our head coach Sylvinho knows him well and we are interested, but we can’t sign all the Brazilians…”

Dalbert is unlikely to feature under Antonio Conte if he stays, opening the door to an exit few supporters will regret.