The negotiations between Barcelona and Inter Milan over Lautaro Martinez have been going on for weeks.
The Catalan club want the Argentine striker, who has a fixed release clause, and they are trying to lower the cost by throwing various different combinations of their squad players at the Italian side.
This may well prove effective in the end, at least in knocking €20m or so off the final fee, depending on which members of the bloated Barca squad Inter have an interest in.
But Sport today note that Antonio Conte’s side want to negotiate a side-deal for Arturo Vidal.
The midfielder is past 30 and has a contract that ends next summer. This makes him a low value target, and Inter apparently want to conclude a cheap, separate side-deal for the former Juventus man, rather than letting his value get inflated as a member of a part-exchange deal for Martinez.
It’s a smart idea, frankly, and Barca will be cursing their luck they didn’t manage to smuggle the Chile star out of the club as part of a package for their dream forward.
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