Inter Milan are ready to ramp up interest in Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun after pulling out of talks with Chelsea to sign Romelu Lukaku, according to reports in Italy.
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The defeated Champions League finalists have spent weeks negotiating a fee with their west London counterparts but it appears the Belgian forward has had an eleventh hour change of heart.
Lukaku is reported to have stopped communicating with Inter’s directors and is instead holding talks with Juventus, prompting the Nerazzurri to inform Chelsea they would be withdrawing from talks.
They are wasting no time in moving onto new targets, however, with Gazzetta dello Sport claiming they have already set their sights on Balogun.
The United States international – who netted 21 times in Ligue 1 last season while on loan at Reims – is the preference of Inter’s recruitment team and fits the profile of young, emerging player they want to sign.
They had already been scouting him as a potential future replacement for Edin Dzeko in the event they signed Lukaku this summer, but are ready to hasten their plans.
Inter had been prepared to spend around £34million on Lukaku and will now try and secure a deal with Arsenal for around the same price point.
There is a feeling they might be prepared to go slightly higher though, given Balogun is eight years younger, will have lower salary demands and possesses significantly higher resale potential.
According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Inter will speak to Arsenal early next week about a deal and the Gunners are believed to be open to cashing in, while the player himself wants a regular starting role and is willing to leave permanently to get it.
Although manager Mikel Arteta has left the door open for Balogun remaining with the club, their massive summer splurge – which has reached £210m – will require a number of fringe players to be sold.
The 22-year-old looked likely against Nurnberg in Arsenal’s first pre-season friendly, with Arteta saying: ‘Well this is what he has been doing and that’s why we gave him the minutes that he deserves to show what he can do.
‘He’s just staying here with us at the moment and we will see what happens.’
Inter boss Simone Inzaghi is thought to prefer a slightly more established striker over Balogun and Atletico Madrid’s Alvaro Morata – who knows Serie A from his time at Juventus – as well as Mehdi Taremi are other options being considered.
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