Inter Close to Striking €50m Sandro Tonali Deal After Agreeing Mauro Icardi Exit
By Tom Gott
Inter are close to agreeing a deal to sign Brescia starlet Sandro Tonali by using the money raised by Mauro Icardi's exit.
The Argentine's loan move to Paris Saint-Germain was made permanent for an upfront fee of €50m on Sunday, meaning Inter already have a sizeable sum of money to play with once the summer transfer window opens.
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Tonali has long been one of Antonio Conte's top targets, and according to Corriere della Sera, a deal is now looking increasingly likely as Inter have already indicated their willingness to use the Icardi money to come close to Brescia's asking price.
Brescia will demand a base fee of €50m, which has already seen Juventus drop out of the race. Maurizio Sarri's side were not willing to go above €35m as a result of the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak, but Inter are happy to pay more as they will soon come into that kind of money.
Inter are also aware that selling Lautaro Martínez to Barcelona would raise even more money, so there is an acceptance that they can afford to get a little crazy this summer.
The Nerazzurri have already reached an agreement with both Tonali and his agent which will see the midfielder ink a four-year contract and earn close to €2.5m per year, so it's now just a case of convincing Brescia to do business.
At the minute, Inter are yet to agree to pay that €50m and are instead trying to negotiate a slight discount, but Brescia are holding firm. They want to keep the 20-year-old and will not be forced to sell for cheap.
Owner Massimo Cellino recently confirmed that he would only sell Tonali if the youngster requested a move away, and he would rather see Tonali move to a team other than Inter or Juventus.
Inter are said to see Tonali as the man who can help bring the best out of January signing Christian Eriksen. The Dane has spent plenty of time as a deep midfielder since joining from Tottenham Hotspur, but Inter want to see him further up the field.
Signing Tonali would allow Conte to push Eriksen up behind Romelu Lukaku in attack, and everyone at San Siro is in agreement that that would be best for the team.