Rice: Atlanta insists on asking for €50 million for Lukeman, and prefers to sell it abroad

According to the Milan Sports newspaper, Atlanta insisted on asking for a price of 50 million euros for Lukeman and tended to sell it to foreign teams.

Yesterday Inter Milan had a conversation with Atlanta, and the theme was Lukeman, although no final agreement was reached. This is not surprising, because the transaction still needs time to advance, but this formal contact itself is of great significance. This is the first time that the two clubs have conducted direct communication on this matter, and it also breaks the cold atmosphere formed by the previously indirect means of conveying information.

Previous reports said that Inter Milan had quoted 40 million euros, and this offer was not unfounded. This was the result of communication between Inter Milan and Lukeman's agent. Atlanta allegedly promised a year ago that if Lukeman is sold this summer, the price will be that amount, so Inter insists that 40 million is reasonable.

Although Atlanta listened to Inter Milan's explanation, it did not change its position. They still insisted on asking for €50 million and said they were more inclined to sell Lukeman abroad and did not want to keep him in Serie A. This position has also been influenced by Atletico Madrid's recent strong interest.

Although there are still obvious differences in prices between the two sides, the real value of this contact is to reopen the communication channels. The atmosphere between the two sides was a bit tense before, and now it is already progress to be able to return to the negotiating table. It is not the right time for Inter Milan to propose a small price increase (such as 42 million to 43 million euros), because such a quote is likely to be directly rejected by Atlanta at this stage. However, Inter Milan is very likely to move forward with the next move in the next few days.

As for Lukeman himself, he repeatedly expressed his firm willingness to join Inter Milan every day to his agent and even the outside world. The player has reached an agreement with Inter until 2030 with an annual salary of 4.5 million euros, which has also beat other suitors including Atletico Madrid and Naples. It is worth mentioning that Naples offered an annual salary of 5 million euros last weekend.

Inter Milan Chairman Marotta did not talk about Lukeman in public yesterday, but said: "We will discuss Lukeman's situation soon", implying that the deal may be about to make substantial progress. Inter Milan hopes that in the next few days, Lukeman himself can take the last step and personally promote the transfer, and how to do it will be up to the players themselves.

If Atlanta continues to refuse to release people, Lukeman may choose to force the transfer. As previously reported, he is willing to join Inter Milan at all costs, even if there is a head-on conflict with Atlanta.

Currently, Lukeman is temporarily absent due to injury and is expected to recover in 10 days. If there is no breakthrough in the transfer by the end of the month, conflict will be inevitable. Lukeman's tough attitude may become the key to promoting the deal.