Manchester City now appear to be pushing for Marco Palestra but the deal isn’t quite done yet.
This week, Sport Witness covered how the Citizens’ approach for the Atalanta wing-back was incoming. At that point, there were no doubts they could meet La Dea’s valuation.
Inter Milan have made an initial offer but this was rejected. They were willing to offer Cristiano Cocchi in the move but this wasn’t of interest to the Bergamo club.
Manchester City’s interest was letting Atalanta raise their valuation to over €50m for the Italian. The youngster has appeared keen on a move to Inter but an approach from Manchester could completely sway his opinion.
Now, the Citizens are starting to make some progress over a deal.
Personal terms agreed
Today’s La Repubblica – via FCInterNews, reports that Inter could be lagging behind.
This is because Manchester City have ‘reached a final agreement’ for Palestra. Atalanta’s asking price is causing problems for all interested clubs.
Atalanta have no intention of lowering their price. They are also not accepting any players and would only be happy with €50m plus bonuses of €5m.
Saga set to keep going
This feels like a cat and mouse game, with La Dea trying their luck. Inter are responding by appearing to detach and pressure Atalanta into reducing their price.
For now, that isn’t working. Atalanta are only using clubs like Manchester City to raise their price.
This doesn’t mean the Citizens aren’t interested. Palestra has all it takes to thrive in England but it feels like his situation will only be resolved later in the window.
Manchester City are yet to confirm the appointment of Enzo Maresca. Inter are yet to complete key sales. Once those things are in line, there could be more clarity about the situation.