Luciano Spalletti: 'Inter Milan cannot afford Henrikh Mkhitaryan'

Spalletti: 'Inter cannot afford Mkhitaryan'
© Offside
Luciano Spalletti admits that Inter Milan cannot afford to purchase Henrikh Mkhitaryan, while also putting Javier Pastore and Simone Verdi in the same category.

Inter Milan boss Luciano Spalletti has ruled out a move for Henrikh Mkhitaryan as the Manchester United midfielder is outside of the club's transfer budget.

The Serie A side had been touted as a possible destination for Mkhitaryan, who has seen his playing time at Old Trafford restricted since the end of October.

Reports emerged on Thursday afternoon suggesting that an agreement could not be struck between the two clubs over a loan move, however, with United wanting the Armenian off their books for good, and Spalletti has now all but put an end to the speculation.

"To keep saying we need to have a big transfer campaign, after the club has made it clear there are certain parameters to be respected, seems to me the best way to get hurt," he told reporters.

"You can say names — Mkhitaryan, [Javier] Pastore, [Simone] Verdi. But they'd cost €30m (£27m) and we don't have that. We need to go and play our game, show all of our quality again. We need to focus on individual quality and make it available to the team. It will be needed in a match such as this.

"The players need to know that I'm absolutely certain of their quality and I know that they have potential. Things have to be fixed on their own as they have been so far. In these times, we rediscover the strength of the group, the family."

Spalletti has also ruled out the prospect of cashing in on certain star names, including Man United target Ivan Perisic.

Inter Milan forward Ivan Perisic gestures to the fans
Read Next:
Spalletti unfazed by Perisic to United talk
>
You May Like
Recomended from Sports Mole

Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City22202064135162
2Manchester UnitedMan Utd22145345162947
3Chelsea22144441162546
4Liverpool22128250252544
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs22125542212141
6Arsenal22116540281239
7Burnley229761919034
8Leicester CityLeicester228683432230
9Everton227692534-927
10Watford2274113140-925
11Huddersfield TownHuddersfield2266101835-1724
12Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton225891727-1023
13Newcastle UnitedNewcastle2264122030-1022
14Crystal Palace2257102033-1322
15West Ham UnitedWest Ham2257102540-1522
16Bournemouth2256112234-1221
17Southampton2248102132-1120
18Stoke CityStoke2255122347-2420
19West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom22210101630-1416
20Swansea CitySwansea2244141334-2116
Login, I already have my ad-free pass
Log in with Facebook to customise Sports Mole
Buy ad-free access (show me the options)
Buy monthly ad-free access for £1.20/month
Buy yearly ad-free access for £12 (2 months free)
Settings - Logout - Manage your account
Settings - Logout - Manage your account