Inter Milan ultras appear to have sent a threat to their owners amid mounting speculation linking star striker Romelu Lukaku with a return to Chelsea.
It’s been a turbulent summer for Inter off the pitch, despite the club cruising to last year’s Serie A title with a staggering 12-point gap between themselves and second-placed AC Milan.
Antonio Conte walked as manager soon after lifting the Scudetto due to a disagreement over the side’s transfer policy and the rumours surrounding Lukaku’s future have only heightened tensions among the already agitated San Siro faithful.
The financial struggles of Suning Holdings Group – Inter’s Chinese owners – have been a cause for concern for some time and their failure to convince Conte his key players would not be sold was what led the fiery Italian to quit.
The unpopular sale of Achraf Hakimi to Paris Saint-Germain generated €60million (£51m) and Suning moved to ease fans’ fears in the wake of the Moroccan’s departure, ruling out any further ‘big’ sales before the transfer deadline.
However, with Inter now reportedly prepared to sell Lukaku for a fee of £100m, a group of enraged supporters took matters into their own hands and sent a sinister warning to their owners on Wednesday.
‘To the club, watch out…’ read a huge banner outside Inter’s headquarters in Milan.
‘Promises must be maintained.’
It’s believed Inter ultras representing the Curva Nord were behind the sign, with tensions threatening to boil over ahead of the club’s Serie A campaign.
The Italian champions kick off the 2021/22 season at home to Genoa in just under three weeks’ time.
‘From our side, we can say that, yes, absolutely, Lukaku is not for sale,’ Inter CEO Beppe Marotta told Sport Mediaset just last week.
‘Lukaku is an important piece on the chessboard available to new manager Simone Inzaghi.
It’s understood Chelsea are willing to make Lukaku the highest paid player in the club’s history in order to wrap up a deal, despite the Belgian’s underwhelming three-year spell at Stamford Bridge from 2011 to 2014.
But Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has remained a keen admirer of Lukaku in the years that have followed and is ready to break the bank to secure the 28-year-old’s return after giving up on a possible deal for top attacking target Erling Haaland.
Only Cristiano Ronaldo scored more goals (29) than the Inter Milan centre-forward (24) in the Italian top flight last season.
MORE : Frank Leboeuf backs Chelsea transfer move for Jules Kounde
MORE : Manchester United and Chelsea target Declan Rice unwilling to force through West Ham exit
from Football – Metro https://ift.tt/37lV1mw
No comments:
Post a Comment