Serie A giants Inter Milan deny any interest in Chelsea striker Diego Costa, after they were rumoured to be preparing a big money January bid for him.
The Spaniard has been on fire in the Premier League, scoring 10 goals and registering 4 assists in 13 appearances this season. Antonio Conte’s arrival has brought the very best out of him so it is no surprise that he has been linked with a big money move abroad. The 28-year-old has previously admitted to wanting to leave Stamford Bridge in the summer, but such has been the change in fortunes, that Chelsea are now reportedly willing to offer him a new contract for which talks are expected to start in the beginning of the new year.
In light of his great run of form, it was rumoured that Inter Milan were planning a big money move for him in January. However, Inter Milan Sporting Director Piero Ausilio has been quick to quash these rumours and labelled them ‘absurd’. Post Inter’s 4-2 victory against Fiorentina yesterday, he said, “To talk about this is absurd, we already have a very strong centre-forward. We will try to evaluate the positions we feel need strengthening.” [via sempreinter]
Inter Milan have been going through something of a crisis this season, despite spending a huge amount of money in the summer on players like Gabigol, Joao Mario and Antonio Candreva. Frank De Boer, who was hired in the summer from Ajax with the hope of turning their fortunes around, lasted exactly 85 days and he was eventually replaced with Stefano Pioli. They currently sit in 8th place, 12 points behind league leader Juventus and 8 points behind arch rivals AC Milan, who have fared much better this season under Vincenzo Montella.
One of the few positives about this season has been that they managed to hold down captain Mauro Icardi to a long term deal. He has been in great form, scoring 14 goals in 19 appearances in all competitions this season. However, he too has been on the receiving end of a lot hate from the Inter faithful for what he said about their Ultras earlier during the season in his autobiography.
The possibility of Chelsea letting their best striker leave in January is highly improbable as he is an important part of their plan to get back to the pinnacle of English football. Also, it is unlikely that Inter will be in the market for a new striker, given that they have such a young, capable striker leading the line. They have issues in defence and midfield that need urgent attention and it is likely that they will focus their funds in those areas in January rather than spend another large sum on a new forward.
