Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport claims Inter’s sporting director met with Toure’s agent to discuss the transfer
Inter Milan are preparing to break the break the bank in order to sign Yaya Toure, according to reports in Italy .
The Manchester City midfielder has reportedly been a target for Roberto Mancini ever since he took control of the Serie A giants earlier this season and he could finally be ready to make his move for Toure.
Mancini worked with the Ivory-Coast midfielder during his time at the Etihad, with the Ivorian scoring the winning goal in the FA Cup final against Stoke, as the pair delivered City’s first major trophy in just under 50 years.
La Gazzetta dello Sport suggest that Inter would be prepared to pay a 60million (A?43.5m) for the 31-year-old, who has previously stalled on new contract deals at City.
Recently, Mancini was speculating in the media about which players he would like to bring to the San Siro.
He said: “In the summer we’ll sign a top player, because we are Inter, a top team.
“I like [Torino’s Matteo] Darmian, James Milner’s contract is expiring – he’ll decide what’s best for him.
“Toure is a City player, [Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk’s] Yevhen Konoplyanka and [Genoa’s] Mattia Perin are both good players. Piero Ausilio is working on it.”
The move looks more likely to happen after it emerged that Inter’s sporting director Piero Ausilio met with Toure’s agent Dimitri Seluk to discuss the transfer.
Mancini also spoke of his desire to keep hold of the injured Mateo Kovacic, with Liverpool reportedly interested in acquiring the Croatia international’s services.
“Kovacic has a knee problem,” he said. “Today he did a little bit of running, we’ll evaluate him tomorrow. He has all the qualities to be a regista and he’ll stay here.”
Life at Inter has not been easy for Mancini since his appointment in November, with the club currently languishing in 10th place in the Serie A table.
The Italian, however, is hopeful of a strong finish to the campaign and believes his side can mount a title challenge next season.
“I’ve asked the players for 10 wins between now and the end of the season,” he said. “We’ll fight to the end to qualify for the Europa League. Next year we have to fight for the Scudetto.”