Portuguese giants place €60m price-tag on Chelsea target as Serie A rivals hit stumbling block

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Chelsea look set to miss out on Sporting Lisbon star Joao Mario, but Inter could also be forced to admit defeat too over the transfer fee demands.

Having played his part in Portugal’s triumph at Euro 2016 this summer, the midfielder will look to sort out his club future in the coming weeks.

The 23-year-old impressed in parts for Fernando Santos and his men, and it has seemingly bloated his asking price as a result.

According to The Sun, he has already agreed a five-year deal with Inter after Sporting accepted a £29m bid, but that has been dismissed by reports in Italy.

Sky Sport Italia confirm that the offer is currently on the table from the Nerazzurri, but they claim that Sporting are unwilling to discuss a transfer for anything less than €60m, as noted by Football Italia.

Naturally, that will be a significant stumbling block to a transfer if true, and it also would suggest that Chelsea will end their interest in the player entirely if that is the case.

Antonio Conte will look at ways to strengthen his midfield this summer, but €60m for Mario is certainly well over the top and it will force interested parties to look elsewhere.

It had been claimed by The Sun that Chinese club Jiangsu Suning, whose owner Zhang Jindong is a majority shareholder in the Serie A giants, would buy him and then immediately send him out on loan in Italy.

However, not even the big-spending Chinese are keen on the idea of parting with such a substantial figure for the Portuguese ace, and in turn it looks as though he could be set to remain in Lisbon for the time being at least with Chelsea likely to continue to monitor his situation in the event things change.

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