Italian Media Highlight How Inter Milan’s Nicolo Barella & AC Milan’s Sandro Tonali Were Close To Joining Opposite Clubs | OneFootball

Inter midfielder Nicolo Barella and his AC Milan counterpart Sandro Tonali will likely be among the key players on the pitch for their respective teams in this evening’s Milan derby clash.

However, as Turin-based newspaper Tuttosport highlights, via FCInterNews, both of the pair could very well have ended up on different sides of the derby divide.

Barella joined Inter from Cagliari in the summer of 2019, with the Nerazzurri managing to convince both the player as well as the Rossoblu on a deal.

However, Inter had been far from the only club interested in Barella’s signature, and in fact it was their city rivals Milan who were among the clubs most seriously trying to get a deal done to sign him in 2019.

In the end, however, the Rossoneri failed to get a deal done, and Inter were the team to succeed in their pursuit of the Cagliari midfielder.

Meanwhile, Tonali had been very closely linked with Inter throughout the summer of 2020, when the Nerazzurri were reportedly trying to sign him from Brescia.

However, Tuttosport notes, this time it was the Nerazzurri who were unable to get a deal done, and their city rivals AC Milan who snapped up the midfielder who has become as vital to their team as Barella is to Inter’s.