Barcelona and Inter Milan have been negotiating over Lautaro Martinez for weeks. Now, Sport today notes that Antonio Conte’s side wants a separate deal for Arturo Vidal to be negotiated.
Vidal is past 30 and has a contract that ends next summer. This makes him a low-value target, and Inter apparently wants to conclude a cheap, separate side-deal for the former Juventus man instead of allowing his value to become inflated as a member of a Martinez part-exchange deal.
It’s a clever idea, frankly, and Barca will be cursing their luck they haven’t managed to smuggle the Chilean star out of the club as part of their dream forward package.
The Catalan club wants Argentine striker Martinez, who has a fixed release clause, and are throwing different combinations of their squad players on the Italian side to lower his cost.
This may ultimately prove effective, at least in knocking off the final fee of €20 m or so, depending on which members of the bloated Barca squad Inter have an interest in. However, Inter’s clever acquisition of Vidal, if successful, will reduce profits for Barcelona.
