Marotta: ‘Frattesi staying at Inter, Liverpool asked for Dumfries, no Diaby or Perisic’

Inter President Beppe Marotta confirms Davide Frattesi will not join Nottingham Forest, Liverpool did call for Denzel Dumfries, but there ‘weren’t the right conditions’ for Moussa Diaby or Ivan Perisic.

The visit to Cremonese kicks off at the Stadio Giovanni Zini at 17.00 GMT (18.00 CET).

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from today’s Serie A games on the Liveblog.

Frattesi gets a rare start, despite the rumours he could be on the verge of a potential move to Nottingham Forest before the transfer deadline.

“As we have always said, we don’t want to hold back any player who wants to go elsewhere. Frattesi has never expressed the desire to leave, of course everyone wants more playing time, but he will have the chance during the season to show what he can do,” Marotta told Sky Sport Italia.

Carlos Augusto has joined the absentee list along with Nicolò Barella, Hakan Calhanoglu and Denzel Dumfries.

The transfer window is open for just over another 24 hours and Inter had been in talks to secure Moussa Diaby from Al-Ittihad, on loan with an option to buy becoming an obligation in certain conditions.

“We went into this transfer window without a sense of anxiety or with the desperate need to fill any gaps. Dumfries had surgery, and we were therefore looking for an opportunity in that area of the squad, but it had to be advantageous, and we couldn’t find anyone to fit the bill,” explained Marotta.

“With regards to Diaby, we had made an approach, but the right conditions did not appear, so we don’t predict any other transfer negotiations.”

There were reports that Liverpool had made an approach for Dumfries in the January transfer window as well.

“Liverpool made a phone call just to ask about the Dumfries situation, but there is absolutely nothing more than that. These are unplanned calls that do nothing other than destabilise a situation. He is staying with us.”

Perisic was also linked with a potential return to Serie A and specifically San Siro from PSV Eindhoven.

“Perisic is fond of Inter, as he had some great seasons here. We interpreted that as his desire to end a very long season with us, but there aren’t the right conditions. So albeit appreciating his quality and professionalism, there was nothing more concrete than a couple of phone calls,” concluded Marotta.

The Nerazzurri are top of the Serie A table and beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in Germany on Wednesday, even if that was not enough for them to avoid the Champions League play-offs.

They will be up against Bodo/Glimt, who have already caused some upsets on home turf, famously beating Manchester City.

“Nothing can be taken for granted and they have some very difficult climactic conditions in home games, including that artificial pitch.”