Inter Milan have prioritised the signing of Lazio winger Antonio Candreva, ahead of Sporting Lisbon’s Joao Mario, according to the Corriere Dello Sport.
The Italian newspaper believes that Inter’s owners Suning are interested in signing the 23 year old as they see him as a bright young talent but manager Roberto Mancini does not see him as first choice, and would like to complete the signing of Candreva first.
Joao Mario’s father, and his agent Kia Joorabchian have confirmed that Liverpool and Inter made concrete bids for the Portuguese international with the Reds making a €40million bid while Inter made a €35m offer plus bonuses. The Corriere Dello Sport believe Joorabchian has been offering Joao Mario to other clubs as he negotiates a new contract for the player at Sporting Lisbon.
The player is currently earning only on €600,000 a year but as the contract runs to 2019, Sporting are not being forthcoming regarding a new deal and Joorabchian is looking to engineer either an improved contract at his current club or a move away to improve his finances.
