Brighton and De Zerbi ask Inter for Asllani – Can Leave For Big Money Offer
Brighton are reportedly eager to sign young Inter Milan midfielder Kristjan Asllani. But only a lucrative bid would prise him away from Appiano Gentile.
The 21-year-old joined the Nerazzurri last summer after making his breakthrough at Empoli. He rose through the Azzurri’s ranks to become a regular feature in the 2021/22 campaign.
However, the Albanian struggled for consistency and playing time during his first season at the Giuseppe Meazza.
Nevertheless, he remains an interesting profile who has suitors in Italy and abroad. According to TuttoMercatoWeb, Brighton are keeping tabs on the young midfielder.
As the source explains, Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi has been tracking Asllani’s development since his days as Sassuolo coach.
The report claims that the Italian manager had already made contact with Inter sporting director Piero Ausilio back in June concerning the Albanian starlet.
Brighton Must Come Forward With A Large Offer To Convince Inter Milan Of Selling Kristjan Asllani
Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton and Hove Albion have reportedly approached Inter for Kristjan Asllani, but will need close to €20m for this to be a tempting proposition.
The Seagulls are now running a survey to understand if a transfer would be possible. However, the source believes that only a substantial offer could tempt Inter to part ways with the former Empoli man.
So if Brighton truly want to sign Asllani, they must splash a considerable amount of cash.
The source adds that despite the imminent arrival of Lazar Samardzic, Inter coach Simone Inzaghi is still planning to count on Asllani.
The latter would serve as an understudy to Hakan Calhanoglu in the deep-lying playmaker role.
Following Marcelo Brozovic’s sale, the Nerazzurri are no longer spoiled for options in this particular position.
However, as he was bought so recently for €14m, it would take at least an offer of €20m to make this worthwhile to the Nerazzurri.
The 21-year-old has 10 senior caps for Albania, scoring two goals, and is under contract until June 2027.
He initially joined Inter on loan last summer at a cost of €4.5m with obligation to buy for a further €10m that activated in July 2023.
READ MORE: Brighton increasingly confident Moises Caicedo will stay with Chelsea’s new bid doomed to fail
Brighton are growing increasingly confident that they will keep Moises Caicedo this summer, talkSPORT understands.
Chelsea are set to make a new bid in the coming days, having already had two offers rejected this summer.
But the latest bid to arrive will not meet Brighton’s asking price with the Blues set to offer a bid totalling £90million, talkSPORT understands.
However, that bid looks set to be rejected as Brighton are not budging on their valuation of over £100m.
It means that Chelsea are readying themselves for disappointment yet again over the midfielder.
The west London outfit have made the Ecuador international a top priority this summer.
But after chasing him throughout the transfer window, they are no closer to landing their man.
And Brighton are now confident that Caicedo will be going nowhere this summer.
After selling Alexis Mac Allister to Liverpool for a fee of up to £50m, they are doing fine financially – and Caicedo signed a new deal in March.
That is despite Seagulls boss Roberto De Zerbi admitting he would be happy to see the midfielder leave this summer.
After the final game of the season in the Premier League, the Italian coach said he expected Caicedo and Mac Allister to depart.
“They deserve to change level of team and competition, we have to be happy for them,” he said in May.
“We are Brighton and our policy is to help the young players to progress, we can’t keep our best players.
“That is right, it is our mentality and we have to find more young players.”
Chelsea have other potential targets they could turn to should they fail to land Caicedo.
Mauricio Pochettino is desperate to sign a midfielder after the departures of Mateo Kovacic, N’Golo Kante, Mason Mount, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Jorginho in January.
Leeds star Tyler Adams, Southampton ace Romeo Lavia and Everton’s Amadou Onana have all been linked.
