Inter and Juventus rival for Deco

With Barcelona midfielder and Portuguese international Deco (30) probably on his way out in the summer, a tough battle for the player between Italian top clubs could be upcoming. Italian sports paper Tuttosport claims that both Inter Milan and Juventus have set their eyes on Deco since both clubs are aiming to strengthen their midfield in the next transfer window.

With Inter sports director Marco Branca eyeing Deco for a while now, Juventus would recently also have contacted Barcelona to inform the club about their interest. Inter is nevertheless said to be the favourites to land the Portuguese since the club would be most willing to accept the high economic demands of the player. To reduce the cash spending, Inter could well try to offer Barcelona an exchange with São Paulo forward and Inter loan out Adriano (26).

Italian television channel Italia 1 claims that a transfer price of around 10 million euro° could be enough to close the deal with Barcelona, where Deco has a contract until 2010. Despite the player's age, Inter manager Roberto Mancini considers the money a good investment, also because the Portuguese can play different positions and systems. The good relationship between Jorge Mendes, the agent of Deco, and Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti would be an advantage to keep off other interested clubs.

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