As bizarre as it sounds, a young Portuguese attacking midfielder could help Inter land potential star Joao Mario.

His name is Pedro Delgado, a Primavera player who the Nerazzurri want to sell. The young Portuguese player has been under contract with Inter for two seasons, but his deal will run out next June.

With the cream of Portuguese football setting their sights on him, it looked like Benfica had got its claws on him, even announcing that he’d be arriving Monday.

Trouble is, the Eagles themselves went on to announce that the deal was off, allegedly because of Delgado’s excessive salary demands, but actually because Delgado has signed a super-secret deal with Sporting Lisbon.

Though Inter have been nothing more than spectators in this deal, they could favour Joao Mario’s move to Milan by weighing in in Sporting’s favour…