Inter Milan put off by Chelsea’s ‘shock’ €35m asking price for Marcos Alonso — report

Atlético Madrid have emerged as potentially serious suitors for third-choice Chelsea left back Marcos Alonso — thanks to their penchant for creative dealmaking with Chelsea — which may have you wondering what happened to the previously reported interest from Antonio Conte and Inter Milan — thanks to Alonso’s previous success under Conte at Chelsea.

Well, wonder no more! (And if you have seen this, admittedly ancient-by-Internet-standards-story of almost one whole day, then bear with me.)

Thursday’s Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sport Witness) claimed that those talks have hit a bit of a speed-bump when Marina Granovskaia revealed our asking price to be €35m, a “shock demand” without any “intention of making concessions”. She doesn’t have the reputation as a tough negotiator for nothing!

Inter are unsurprisingly looking to pay much less than that, and, like Atlético, would like a loan first. That’s how deals with high-priced contract-albatrosses get done, after all.

Since we’re unlikely to be able to move Alonso on a straight-up transfer, we’re probably going to have to settle for some sort of loan-plus-option arrangement. Whether to Spain or Italy — Alonso has ties to both, so may the highest bidder win the prize!