Manchester United and Inter Milan have been in contact with each other over the past few weeks with Inter Milan executives spotted in Manchester to reportedly negotiate a deal for United striker Romelu Lukaku. But the Belgian forward is not the only Manchester United player the Nerazzurri are looking to steal from the club. Inter have shown keen interest in midfielder Nemanja Matic and wish to sign him for the upcoming season.
As per The Sun, Inter Milan proposed a player plus cash deal swapping Radja Nainggolan for Nemanja Matic, a proposal that Manchester United declined. Inter appointed Antonio Conte as their new manager and having previously worked with Matic while at Chelsea, the Italian may be keen to reunite with the player and make use of his defensive qualities. Conte won the Premier League with Chelsea in his first season in charge of the Blues, where Nemanja Matic and N’Golo Kante played an integral part in midfield.
United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer quashed the idea of the swap deal and this may suggest that despite the exit rumours, the Serbian defensive midfielder will stay at United and play an integral part of Solskjaer’s squad for the upcoming season.
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Conte, on the other hand, is keen to offload Nainggolan and Inter have been very clear about this even publicly releasing a statement that the Belgian is not in their plans for the upcoming season. The proposal for a switch between Nainggolan and Matic comes after Inter had appraoched Barcelona proposing a swap between Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal and Nainggolan.
Inter Milan also look to offload Argentine striker Mauro Icardi and hope that the player can act as a makeweight in negotiations for United striker Lukaku. Inter have been pursuing the Belgian forward for quite some time now and the two clubs are reportedly close to an agreement. Inter Milan will be contending in the Champions League in the upcoming season and hope to leave a mark over Europe and have made some high profile signings over the summer with a few more expected.
The answer for the question regarding who will remain at and who will leave Manchester United at the end of the transfer window is something only time will tell.