Thohir, first contact with de Boer: "Thanks to Mancini, he made the team stronger".
The first contact has taken place between Inter President Erick Thohir and new coach Frank de Boer. The patron has just returned from Brazil where he has been catching up with some of the Indonesian athletes at the Rio Olympics. Thohir was anxious to meet the new team boss in person and it’s highly likely he will now return to Rio in the next 24 hours.
ICARDI
Back down to business, the priority remains Mauro Icardi; the 23-year-old’s future is still uncertain with the nerazzurri desperate to tie him down to a new deal despite competition from Napoli, Chelsea and Arsenal. De Boer has already stated he wants the player to spearhead his attack this season and the club will now accelerate discussions to extend his current deal which expires in 2019 whilst offering a substantial pay-rise on the €3.5 million he currently earns per season. New talks are also likely with Poruguese midfielder Joao Mario with the player’s agent and Suning intermediary Kia Joorabchian heading to Lisbon for a meeting with Sporting. The future of Croatian midfielder Marcelo Brozovic now looks to be in danger with Wolfsburg’s Luis Gustavo also being strongly linked with a move to Italy.
BETWEEN GABIGOL & INSIGNE
The dream of the new owners has always been Brazilian striker Gabigol, who drageed his team into the Olypic football tournament quarter-finals last night. The nerazzurri have already submitted a bid of €25 million to his club Santos but discussions are unlikely until after the tournament is over. Another idea is Lorenzo Insigne, the Napoli play-maker is considered an alternative to Gabigol but his arrival from Napoli remains a long-shot.
Steve Mitchell @barafundler
THOHIR SPEAKS
Whilst on his visit, Thohir chatted to the clubs TV channel and began by stating that; “It’s important that I’m here, it’s important that I demonstrate my support for Inter, the new coach, executives and also the players, this is why I had to be here”.
ON DE BOER
“I would like to say thanks to Roberto Mancini, because last season was positive and the team improved a lot. I have already explained to Frank that this is Inter, we have a great history and it’s important we all work together as a team. It’s necessary to demonstrate to the fans that we are serious people and we must ensure Inter qualifies for the Champions League”.
ON THE TRANSFER MARKET
The most important thing is that we strengthen the squad. We have already signed Candreva and there are a couple more players we would like to sign. Obviously, Frank has a little bit of time to evaluate the squad and impose himself on the team. Maybe he will change something, maybe not; it’s up to him to decide”.
Steve Mitchell @barafundler
