Di Marzio: Inter want Guarin resolution within the next seven days

In general, transfer rumors are easy. The English ones usually serve to sell papers; the Spanish ones usually serve to talk up their own clubs. The German ones are boring because everybody just ends up at Bayern anyway, while the French ones just link everybody with PSG. With Italy, however, it often feels like we need a post-graduate degree in psychic tea leaf-reading to even begin to untwist the tangled web.

Which brings us to Fredy Guarin, who looked to be on his way out from Inter last month but then he had a great game against AC Milan and all of a sudden the Inter leadership seemed to have a change of heart. But they didn't quite rule out a sale completely, while confirming that Chelsea were indeed interested. A bid or two of around €12-15m may or may not have been made at some point, too.

The latest today, courtesy of Gianluca Di Marzio (who seems to be slightly less interested in his own personal brand than Tancredi - faint praise, that - and thus, perhaps, just a wee bit more reliable), is that Inter have given Chelsea a week to make the call.

"The nero azzurri are waiting for the official offer from Chelsea, that would be the only way to move the negotiation forward. But Inter won't wait forever, the deadline has been set for next week. Inter won't wait past next Monday or Tuesday, should the offer arrive by then Inter will be willing to negotiate the sale of the Colombian midfielder. The parties involved are waiting, it can't be excluded that Inter will just keep Guarin."

-source: Gianluca Di Marzio

Guarin's agent meanwhile may or may not have been shopping his client in Spain, with rumors of both Real Madrid and Barcelona floating about, but perhaps that's all in attempt to influence Chelsea or Inter to resolve this saga one way or another. Hopefully we will indeed know something more solid within the next week.