Marotta: ‘Inter heading for Champions League play-offs, interest in Diaby’

Inter President Beppe Marotta confirms interest in Al-Ittihad winger Moussa Diaby, but also admits they’re probably heading ‘into the Champions League play-offs.’

Their trip to Borussia Dortmund kicks off at the Westfalenstadion at 20.00 GMT (21.00 CET).

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from this game, Napoli-Chelsea, Monaco-Juventus and Union Saint-Gilloise-Atalanta on the Liveblog.

All the matches are played simultaneously in the final round of the league phase, as Inter slipped out of the top eight and must win to have any chance of avoiding the play-offs.

“This counts for the performance we need to guarantee, as it is an important test to give us more confidence going forward in the season,” Marotta told Sky Sport Italia.

“Going directly into the Round of 16 seems difficult right now, so we should prepare for the play-offs.”

Some changes are forced, as Nicolò Barella, Hakan Calhanoglu and Denzel Dumfries are on the treatment table.

Lautaro Martinez and Alessandro Bastoni are both initially rested, partly as they are on a yellow card and do not want to be suspended for the potential play-offs.

The transfer window is still open, and there are reports Inter could pursue a comeback for Ivan Perisic, especially if PSV Eindhoven are eliminated from the Champions League today.

“There are two considerations to make here,” replied Marotta.

“The first is that we are not in an emergency situation. The other is that we want to strengthen the squad in January, and that is not an easy thing to do. There is nothing against investment, but we have to find the right player. We are evaluating a few different alternatives and we’ll see, but right now the squad is fulfilling all expectations.”

Al-Ittihad winger Moussa Diaby was mentioned today by Sky Sport Italia, with reports he is pushing for a move to Inter.

“When I talked about players we were talking to, I will not deny that is one of the options, albeit a remote one, as he is considered important for his current squad. They spent a lot of money for him, so the odds are small, but we are looking into it and will see what happens over the next few days.”

Diaby only made the move from Aston Villa to Al-Ittihad for €60m in the summer of 2024.

Inter had started the competition so well, winning the opening four games while conceding only one goal, but have now lost three on the bounce to Atletico Madrid, Liverpool and Arsenal.

In Serie A too, although they are top of the table, they failed to beat any of the other big teams.

“We’ve got to admit that our position in the rankings as Italian football has dropped compared to last season. The Premier League is dominating, largely due to their financial status, then we can add teams like Real Madrid, Barcelona, PSG and Bayern Munich, you have the top eight.

“Italian football is in difficulty on a financial level, we have to acknowledge that.”