How Inter plan to keep Skriniar away from Chelsea and PSG

FT Desk

• 27 Oct 2022 13:02 BST
• 3 min read

Inter Milan centre-back Milan Skriniar is attracted the attention of Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain, but his current employers plan to pull out the stops to keep him.

Skriniar has emerged as one of the best centre-backs in Serie A and beyond since joining Inter in a €20 million deal from Sampdoria in 2017, helping the Nerazzurri to the Scudetto in 2021 and racking up 231 appearances along the way.

Still just 27, the Slovak is out of contract at the end of the season, and Chelsea and PSG are among those circling, but Inter have a two-pronged approach to persuading him to stay.

The first is investment in the squad. Romelu Lukaku's loan deal from Chelsea could be made permanent for a reported €46m at the end of the campaign, while Inter have also been linked with Anthony Martial and Bobby Firmino as alternatives to the Belgian.

"Everyone sees that every summer we try to strengthen the team by making it more competitive," says club chairman Steven Zhang. "I think [Skriniar]'s an incredible player, he knows himself how much I want to see him stay here."

The second method is cold, hard, cash. Inter are reportedly ready to lift Skriniar's salary alongside Lautaro Martinez as the highest earner at the club, with the Slovak set to be offered a basic package of €6.5m net per season.

Affordable package

Inter recently won through to the knock-out rounds of the Champions League with a 4-0 win over Viktoria Plzen in Group C, although their ability to offer Skriniar fresh terms didn't depend on their progress.

"Skriniar's extensions won't be linked to qualification to the knockout stages," the club's CEO Giuseppe Marotta said before the game. "We have an obligation to sit down with him to discuss his extension because he deserves it and because he's a great player.

"I hope he becomes a point of reference for Inter now and in the future. But negotiations are two-way, agreements are two-way. I'm optimistic by nature, we hope to find a solution as soon as possible."