Internazionale are interested in signing Eric Bailly from Manchester United should the Cote d'Ivoire defender elect not to take up the offer of a new contract at the English Premier League club.
Bailly, 26, is out of contract at United in 15 months time and has expressed his dissatisfaction at Ole Gunnar Solskjaer 's policy of pairing fellow Scandinavian Victor Lindelof at centre back with world-record signing Harry Maguire.
Although United had made significant progress during negotiation to improve and extend Bailly's current deal in recent weeks, Solskjaer's decision to favour Lindelof for the second leg of United's Europa League Round-of-16 victory over AC Milan is understood to have resulted in a verbal conflict between manager and player.
Despite his subsequent apology, Bailly was left out of the matchday squad and has not been selected since.
Signed from Villarreal for an initial transfer of €35million in the summer of 2016, injury, suspension and managerial preference has limited Bailly to 100 appearances for United across his five seasons at the club.
Solskjaer – who requested Maguire's acquisition for a transfer fee of £85m in 2019 – has granted Bailly just 11 Premier League starts in over two years as Old Trafford manager.
Aware of Bailly's frustration at the situation, Inter have proposed a move to Serie A, where they are expected to start next season as Italian champions. United value the African at €20m, a fee Inter would seek to negotiate down.
Solskjaer, meanwhile, has instructed United's newly restructured football department to further improve his options in central defence. Amongst a number of potential recruits under consideration, the English club have explored signing Nikola Milenkovic from Fiorentina.
