Rafa Benitez hopes to take Glen Johnson or Gareth Bale to Inter
Milan as a replacement for Real Madrid-bound Maicon.
The Italian champions are ready to cave in on their Brazil right
back's desire to be reunited with Jose Mourinho at the Bernabeu and
are expected to do a deal for about £25million with the
Spaniards.
Flashback: Benitez (right) welcomes Johnson to
Liverpool last summer
Inter had been hoping for nearer £30m - £10m more than Madrid's
valuation of the 28-year-old - but the European champions know that
Maicon's heart is set on following Mourinho.
Benitez sees his former Liverpool man Johnson as a like-for-like
replacement as a defender who is comfortable getting forward down
the right flank.
An alternative would be Tottenham Hotspur defender Bale,
according to Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport, even though the
Wales international operates down the opposite flank.
Highly rated: Spurs defender Bale has several
admirers in Italy
Argentina veteran Javier Zanetti and 19-year-old rising star
Davide Santon have both played at left back but are equally
comfortable down the right, opening the way for Inter to bid for
Bale.
A move for either of the Barclays Premier League stars will be
hard to complete. Bale, 20, is highly regarded in Italy and has
also been tracked by AC Milan and Juventus.
However, Harry Redknapp is keen to hold on to the 20-year-old
and reports in Italy claim that Spurs scared off Italian suitors in
January by quoting an asking price approaching £20m.
On the run: Inter Milan defender Maicon (right) is
heading for Real Madrid
Johnson is likely to cost even more given that Benitez signed
him for Liverpool from Portsmouth for £17m last summer.
The 25-year-old has three years left on a staggering
£139,000-a-week contract and Inter's hopes for signing him may rest
on the cash-strapped Merseysiders being tempted to take him off the
payroll.
