Spalletti fears Premier League giants raid for Inter stars

Inter Milan boss Luciano Spalletti conceded on Wednesday that his side might be raided by the big money clubs of the English Premier League.

Ivan Perisic (right) is coveted by several leading clubs in Europe. Reuters

Inter’s Croatia international Ivan Perisic is on radar of Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United and Chelsea boss Antonio Conte is a longtime admirer of Inter midfielder Antonio Candreva.

"Sure there are rumours but we want to keep Perisic,” said Spalletti. “He's a very important player for the team. We are counting on him to start the new season," Spalletti told journalists in Singapore, where Inter play a pre-season friendly with Bayern Munich on 27 July.

"But if somebody comes in with a very difficult offer to reject then we will consider that. But of course we need to find a valid alternative for Perisic as well."

Mourinho and United are on the look-out for a winger to provide the ammunition for Romelu Lukaku, the striker who signed this summer from Everton for a 80 million euros.

And on Italian international Candreva, 30, Spalletti also failed to give assurances about his future at Inter, saying: "Nobody has officially made a request for him yet."

Premier League clubs have promoted their spending power this summer. Manchester City have spent 220 million euros on four new players including 58 million on Monaco full-back Benjamin Mendy making him the world's most expensive defender.

Chelsea have also flashed the cash with 75 million euros given to Real Madrid for the services of Spain international striker Alvaro Morata.

Spalletti took over at Inter in June. The 58-year-old replaced Stefano Pioli who led Inter to seventh in Serie A, one point and one place behind city rivals AC Milan and 28 points behind champions Juventus.