€22m Inter Milan star reveals Barcelona made ‘concrete proposals’ for him back in the summer | OneFootball

FC Barcelona’s difficult financial situation has forced them to look at free agents and market opportunities in recent seasons. More often than not, they have made smart decisions when it comes to signing free agents in particular.

The likes of Inigo Martinez, Andreas Christensen and Ilkay Gundogan have been sporting successes while Franck Kessie was an excellent piece of business from the club. There have also been a few duds like Marcos Alonso and Hector Bellerin.

Now, as quoted by Mundo Deportivo, Inter Milan star Piotr Zielinski has revealed that Barcelona were among the clubs interested in him back in the summer but he chose to stay in Italy. He said:

“There were clubs like Liverpool, Arsenal, and Atlético Madrid interested in me, and I also received concrete proposals from Barcelona. However, I love Italy. When I arrived at Napoli, I immediately felt very comfortable, and for this reason, it would have been difficult for me to move to England.”

“I could have considered Spain, but my priority was to continue my career in Italy. Now I’m at Inter, but Napoli is still a great club and I would have loved to renew my contract there.”

Zielinski was available for a bargain fee back in the summer, as his contract with Napoli was coming to an end. This could have prompted Barcelona to take a look at the 30-year-old but it’s fair to say that it’s good the transfer didn’t work out.

As good as the Polish star can be, he would have taken game time away from one of the talented youngsters coming through at Barcelona. Having signed Dani Olmo, they all but addressed their need for a central attacking midfielder with goalscoring potential.

The €22m-rated star has started well for Inter Milan. It is understandable that he wanted to stay in Italy, having been so successful there all his life. Zielinski is a valuable player but it would have just been one too many cooks at Barcelona.

Barcelona’s excellent start to the season means it really doesn’t matter what happened in the summer transfer window and what didn’t. The club has moved on but this is a nice anecdote from Zielinski that offers insight into the Catalan’s club’s thinking last summer.