Udinese director Gianluca Nani insists ‘Inter have not asked us’ for Oumar Solet, but he expects Arthur Atta to gain attention. ‘A mix between Jude Bellingham and Zinedine Zidane.’
The Friulani finished comfortably mid-table in Serie A, as usual by using their impressive scouting network to dig out new talents that can then flourish at the Bluenergy Stadium.
Among them, defender Solet is reportedly the centre of a €25m bid from Inter to reinforce their back three next season.
“Solet is one of the players who has a lot of interest, but he is not the only one,” Udinese director of sport Nani told Tuttomercatoweb.
“We don’t need to sell, but our approach means if offers become an opportunity for both the player and the club, then it is taken into consideration. The important thing is to build a competitive squad.”
However, while it is claimed by multiple sources that Inter already agreed personal terms with Solet’s entourage, the same is not true for his club.
“We received many calls about Solet, but not from Inter. I imagine they do like him, but there are no negotiations with Inter, whereas other clubs asked for more concrete information,” revealed Nani.
“I won’t tell you the figures, these are private negotiations. There is nothing ready to be finalised, just interest at this stage for him and other players. I’d be worried if they didn’t call me.”
Another of the Udinese talents expected to move on soon is Atta, the midfielder who scored six goals and provided four assists in 34 games between Serie A and the Coppa Italia.
When describing the 23-year-old Nani makes some bold claims.
“He is an extraordinary player, for me a mix between Jude Bellingham and Zinedine Zidane. This tells you how highly I rate him. I would not want to sell Atta, but if it happens, it means an offer has come in that neither us nor the player could resist.”
Udinese also have an option to buy Nicolò Zaniolo outright from Galatasaray for either €10m, or €5m plus a 50 per cent cut of the future sale fee.
“We do have that option, he manifested his appreciation for that idea, and we are very happy with his performance. It’s not an economic situation, we just need to sit around a table at the right moment and decide what to do,” explained the director.
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