According to the Corriere dello Sport, the Nerazzurri are plotting a deal with Cagliari for their half of Roma midfielder Radja Nainggolan’s contract.
The deal being lined up is not a simple one, as it involved player exchange and money for Cagliari’s half of his contract, and the cash (€20million) will be used by Cagliari to purchase the rest of the contract from Roma.
The identities of the players to be sent to Sardinia is unknown, but it was be an attractive prospect for Gianluca Festa as his side aims to rebuild in Serie B following relegation from the top tier.
In an interview with FourFourTwo three days ago, the Belgian went on record as saying “anything can happen”, something which may have persuaded Inter, backed by President Erick Thohir, to move in and snatch his services.
One of Roma’s more consistent performers in a difficult season, the Antwerp-born central midfielder has scored five times in 35 games in Serie A, with four assists added to that. Also, he bagged a couple of assists in the Champions League, famously setting up Totti for the equaliser at Manchester City back in September.
At 27 years old, the Belgian international is in his prime and would be a very useful asset for the Internazionale midfield, but any move to Milan would mean he would have to surrender his favoured number four shirt.
It will be interesting to see how this deal progresses, with Il Biscione also linked to Alex Song, Thiago Motta, Mario Pasalic and Mario Suarez.