Reports in Italy have stated that relegated Cardiff City's Chile enforcer Gary Medel is flying to the country to finalise a move to Inter Milan. Inter met the Bluebirds' £10million valuation of the defensive midfielder on Saturday, and Medel is now flying over to confirm personal terms with the club before his arrival is officially announced.
Medel, known as 'the Pitbull' for his aggressive, combative style, made 34 league appearances for the Welsh side last year having joined from Sevilla for a club record transfer fee of around £11m last summer. However, with Cardiff relegated from the Premier League in their first season, they will have to sell off some of their highest earners to survive back in the Championship - though they are alleged to have rejected a bid of around £5m from QPR for fellow midfielder Jordan Mutch.
Inter have fallen dramatically from grace in recent years and finished last season in fifth in Serie A, but manager Walter Mazzarri looks to be assembling a tough, determined squad. As well as the acquisition of Nemanja Vidić from Manchester United, Yann M'Vila has been signed from Rubin Kazan and Medel's arrival will complete a solid core as Inter begin life without the long-serving Javier Zanetti, Walter Samuel and Esteban Cambiasso.
As well as his more usual role in defensive midfield, Medel showed during the World Cup that he is equally adept at playing in a central defensive role. Medel was one of the stars in one of the most exciting sides in Brazil as Chile made it to the knockout stage but were defeated on penalties by the hosts. La Roja made it through one of the toughest groups with the Netherlands and the other Roja, Spain, and were an inch away from the quarter-finals when striker Mauricio Pinilla infamously hit the crossbar in the final minute of extra time. Fans of the Nerazzuri will be hoping that Medel's experiences from Brazil can help elevate the 2010 Champions League winners back to where they rightfully belong.