Inter managing director Beppe Marotta has confirmed that Barcelona stalwart Arturo Vidal is on their transfer shortlist.
The two European giants were in action against each other in the Champions League on Tuesday night as the Catalan giants secured a 2-1 win.
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In turn, that result led to Inter crashing out of the competition, and so it was a bitterly disappointing night for the Nerazzurri as the last thing that they will be thinking about right now is the January transfer window.
However, speaking before the game, Marotta confirmed that Vidal is on their list of targets moving forward, and so it remains to be seen whether or not a deal can be done between the two clubs for the Chilean international.
“He is a great football player, a football warrior,” he told Sport Mediaset, as reported by Calciomercato. “It’s hard to see Barcelona depriving themselves of him, but he is a name on our list too.”
Meanwhile, Marotta also commented on Lautaro Martinez, with Marca noting earlier in the day that the Argentine ace continues to be linked with a move to Barcelona after enjoying an excellent start to this season.
Naturally, he insisted that Inter have no desire to see their prized asset move on, but ultimately he didn’t offer the most reassuring of answers as he left the door open to an exit if Martinez was to push for one.
“We are Inter, we don’t necessarily have to be sellers,” he added. “We want to grow with important and young players like Lautaro and Lukaku, but the players’ destiny is in their hands. If Lautaro wants to continue with us, we are happy. Right now he is tied to us and so we are happy. If he wants to take other paths, we will do our evaluations.”
That will arguably give Barcelona a boost in confidence over potentially prising him away from Italy, but with Inter still going well at the top of the Serie A table, Martinez could yet be convinced to stay, to build on his partnership with Lukaku and secure major trophies for the club moving forward.