Inter Milan are keeping tabs on Tigre striker Mateo Retegui after he impressed on his international debut with the Italian national team.
According to Sky Italia, the Nerazzurri have been monitoring the player’s development for over a year and are now weighing up the possibility of a summer move.
Retegui was a relatively unknown entity until he earned a call-up to Roberto Mancini’s squad for the European Championship qualifiers against England and Malta.
Having scored six times in eight appearances in the Argentine top-flight division this season, Retegui continued his goalscoring form when he grabbed the Gli Azzurri’s only goal in Thursday’s 2-1 defeat to England.
Retegui joined Tigre from Boca Juniors on a one-and-a-half-year loan deal in February 2022. But his impressive performances for the Argentine outfit suggest a move to Europe could soon be a formality.
The 23-year-old has scored 29 goals and assisted a further three in 59 appearances for Tigre and Inter are set to make their move.
They are looking for a long-term investment in their striking department amid uncertainty surrounding the future of some of the current crop of players.
Inter look set to keep 37-year-old Edin Dzeko for at least one more year after agreeing to a contract extension with his current deal set to expire at the end of the season.
However, with the club uncertain about keeping Chelsea loanee Romelu Lukaku permanently and Joaquin Correa attracting interest from the Premier League, Inter could soon need a new striker to lead the line alongside Lautaro Martinez.
Martinez is also the subject of concrete interest from several top European clubs, but Inter’s astronomical asking price has deterred interest in the striker.
Inter could move for Retegui this summer, but the Boca Juniors striker will cost much more than what Tigres are set to pay for his permanent acquisition.
The Argentine club will shell out €2.5 million for the Retegui, with his parent club set to keep half of any future resale figure.
However, any deal for the striker hinges on the situation surrounding Correa and Lukaku, with the latter struggling to recapture his previous goal-scoring form at the San Siro.
