Inter switch focus to Magpies ace.
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Inter Milan look set to try their luck with a bid for Newcastle United winger Hatem Ben Arfa after failing in their pursuit to land Blackpool starlet Tom Ince, CaughtOffside understands.
The Italian giants are keen to strengthen in the wide areas this summer as they look to make some major investments under the ownership of Erick Thohir, who took over the majority of the San Siro club in the winter.
Ince had been one of Inter’s top targets as he would have been available on a free transfer, but with the 22-year-old England youngster deciding to continue his progress in the Premier League for now, the Nerazzuri will now be exploring other options to come in in that part of the pitch.
Ben Arfa is another player who looks likely to be on the move this summer after falling out of favour with Newcastle manager Alan Pardew for much of last season. Although the Frenchman made 27 appearances in the Premier League, 14 of those were as a substitute, leading to speculation that he is no longer in the club’s plans.
The former Marseille man is undoubtedly a top talent on his day, and has scored some memorable solo goals during his time in the English game, but he has often been held back due to a struggle to find consistency or put in the required effort to really take his game to the next level.
Still, his potential availability has led to interest from big names such as Liverpool in recent times, while there are also said to be numerous clubs in his native France who would be open to signing him this summer as well.
Inter will now hope to persuade the player to make the move to Serie A, and he may find he benefits from taking on a new challenge in a different league, where the pace of the game will also be slower than in the English top flight.
With Newcastle needing to sell before they can buy this summer, they could be willing to negotiate a reasonable fee with Inter over Ben Arfa’s transfer, in a deal that would benefit all parties fairly equally.
The 27-year-old has a total of 14 goals and 18 assists in 86 appearances for the north-east club.
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