Benfica has declined a €22 million bid from Inter Milan for defender Morato.
According to the Portuguese newspaper A Bola, via FCInterNews, Benfica has rejected a €22 million offer from Inter Milan for defender Morato. The report indicates that Inter submitted a bid for the Brazilian, but Benfica is unwilling to sell unless a significantly higher offer is made.
Inter Milan’s pursuit of a defender before the summer transfer window closes is well known. Nerazzurri coach Simone Inzaghi has publicly acknowledged that the team’s defensive depth is currently insufficient.
This shortage is partly due to an injury to Tajon Buchanan, who will miss the first few months of the season. Although Buchanan is a wingback, his absence means that Carlos Augusto, who often covered in defense last season, will need to fill in at wingback instead. As a result, Inter has prioritized signing a defender to back up Alessandro Bastoni on the left side of their back three.
Inter has explored various options for strengthening their defense. They considered experienced free agents like Ricardo Rodriguez and Mario Hermoso as potential stopgap solutions. The club was also reportedly close to signing defender Juan Cabal before he ultimately joined Juventus.
Other defenders linked to Inter include Zenit St. Petersburg’s Robert Renan, Arsenal’s Jakub Kiwior, and Genoa’s Johan Vazquez. More recently, Nantes defender Nathan Zeze, Dinamo Zagreb defender Mauro Perkovic, and Valencia defender Yarek Gasiorowski have also been on their radar.
A Bola reports that Inter also expressed interest in signing Morato, offering Benfica an initial fee of €18 million with an additional €4 million, totaling €22 million. However, Benfica swiftly rejected the offer, with the Portuguese club reportedly holding out for a much higher bid.