Adriano to Milan
The Observer claims that Inter Milan are ready to offer £15m plus the Brazilian striker Adriano to lure Frank Lampard to the San Siro.
Negotiations over Lampard’s contract have been dragging on for nearly two years and Inter had a £7.95m bid rejected last week. Chelsea have refused to enter negotiations with Inter, and Peter Kenyon insisted this week that Lampard will see out the remainder of his contract.
“We have always maintained that we want Frank to stay and an offer was made to that effect. That offer is still on the table. Frank is under contract and he still has one year to run on that,” Kenyon said.
“We’d like to hope we can reach an agreement but if we can’t we have always worked on the basis that Frank sees out the terms of his contract.” He added.
Whether the inclusion of Adriano in any deal for Lampard would persuade Chelsea to change their stance remains to be seen, but sources close to Luiz Felipe Scolari have told the Observer that he is attracted to such a deal.
Adriano spent last season on loan at Sao Paulo, scoring 17 goals in 28 games. However the player is understood not to be a part of Jose Mourinho’s plans.
“Mourinho and Adriano have met and talked, but I can’t say how this meeting went,’ the striker’s agent, Gilmar Rinaldi, told Observer Sport
“The player is flying back from Rio de Janeiro to Milan next week, as the pre-season starts on Wednesday. I will neither confirm nor deny that he will be exchanged for Lampard.”
Adriano joined Inter in 2001 from Flamengo and has spent time on loan at Fiorentina, Parma, and more recently, Sao Paulo. He has 45 caps for Brazil, and has scored 27 goals.