Inter Milan's 'ultras' have warned the club not to sell 'untouchable' Nicolo Barella this summer. The stern message comes amid Newcastle United and Chelsea's transfer interest in the highly-rated 26-year-old.
Barella featured in the Champions League final against Manchester City and played in the European Championship final at Wembley back in 2021. A move to Newcastle would represent a huge statement from the Magpies but Eddie Howe's men face plenty of hurdles to secure his signature.
Inter have batted away interest in recent days and the club's diehard fanbase have now made their feelings clear. The The Nerazzurri ultras posted a picture of Barella on Instagram this week, captioning the post: “Interista born, present and future. Untouchable.”
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Newcastle have enquired over a £50m move, while Chelsea have been linked to the player through a potential swap deal including Romelu Lukaku. Inter Milan are in no mood to sell and Barella himself has a deep-rooted love for playing in black and blue.
“Ever since I was a boy I had imagined myself playing for Inter one day, dreaming of being there while the team was winning the Scudetto for the second star,” he stated in 2021. “Now that I am here I don’t want to stop."
Interest in Barella came as a shock to the Newcastle fanbase but shows the type of talent Howe wants brought in this summer. “Our strategy last summer was to try and find quality players for the positions that we needed not to bring in a host of players who don’t necessarily improve our starting XI or squad," the Newcastle boss said recently.
“I don’t think our strategy will change. We want elite players because we have an elite squad. If we do add anyone in they have to be better than the players we have.”
