Arsenal and Chelsea blow as Inter Milan confirm interest in £20m transfer goal | Football

Inter Milan chairman Giuseppe Marotta has dropped an almighty hint that the club plan on triggering their buy-back option for Aleksandar Stankovic in the summertime transfer window.

Stankovic, the son of Inter Milan legend Dejan, is having fun with an impressive debut season with Club Brugge on the back of a €10million (£8.7m) move from the San Siro last July.

The 20-year-old central midfielder has made 39 appearances in all competitions for the Belgian outfit, chipping in with seven goals and 4 assists.

Though he was widely tipped for future stardom in Inter’s academy ranks, Stankovic made the tough decision to go away his boyhood team in pursuit of guaranteed game-time last summer following a season-long loan with Luzern in Switzerland.

But just six months on, there may be mounting speculation that Stankovic may very well be on the move again, together with his performances catching the eye of a few of Europe’s top teams.

Last week, Belgian newspaper HLN claimed Arsenal, Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund were all in regular contact with each Club Brugge and Roc Nation, the agency that represents Stankovic.

The report suggested the 2 Premier League sides viewed Stankovic as a ‘very interesting prospect’ and a player to keep watch over for the longer term.

Nevertheless, Inter inserted a buy-back clause of their cope with Club Brugge for Stankovic, meaning they’ll re-sign the Serbia international for a fee of €23million (£20m) in the primary two weeks on June.

‘He’s from a high quality football family, he’s a son of the club and he’s doing thoroughly,’ Inter chief Marotta said of Stankovic.

‘We’ve got the choice to purchase him back and we didn’t put that within the deal for no reason.’

While he has been mightily impressed with Stankovic’s form domestically and in Europe, Marotta refused so as to add any further fuel to speculation the teenager could soon be playing in black and blue again.

‘It’s premature to speak about it now so we’ll see what happens,’ he added.

‘He’s our player and is having an exquisite experience within the Belgian league and Champions League.’

Speaking after Club Brugge’s recent win over Standard Liege, Stankovic’s father, Dejan, said his son deserved the eye he was receiving because of the ‘transformation’ he had undergone in Belgian football this season.

‘I believe it’s right that we speak about him. And I’ve already said, at his age he’s already a greater player than I used to be,’ Stankovic – who won an historic treble with Inter in 2010 – said.

‘What advice could I give him? Time will tell, but an important thing is consistency.

‘He made excellent decisions, between Luzern and Bruges. He left home, suffered, learned, worked. 

‘His transformation has been incredible. He’s improving game after game, but now the pressure is coming.’

He added: ‘If Aleksandar continues at this pace, he’ll be playing top-level football.

‘I can’t inform you where yet, but that’s how it’ll be.’

Meanwhile, the player himself has made no secret of the very fact he ‘dreams’ of sooner or later returning to Inter having didn’t make the step up from the academy to the first-team.

‘People often say that I used to be born in an Inter shirt,’ the Club Brugge teenager explained.

‘I’ve at all times said that imagined playing on the San Siro as a child and that is still a dream that I’m pursuing.’

Stankovic’s current cope with Club Brugge runs through to June 2029.

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