Inter confident of securing Ince

Inter’s sporting director Piero Ausilio is hopeful of concluding a deal for English winger Tom Ince in the next few days.

The 22-year-old, who is out of contract with Blackpool at the end of June having spent the latter part of last season on loan at Crystal Palace, visited Milan at the weekend with father Paul – an Inter player between 1995 and 1997.

While Ausilio confirmed no agreement had been reached between club and player, their initial talks had been positive.

After making progress in attempting to sign the England Under-21 international, Ausilio is confident they will be able to confirm his arrival over the course of the next few days.

“It’s still early. The boy came to Milan because he wanted to have a look at everything for himself,” Ausilio said on Monday.

“We made the most of the weekend that he decided to spend in Milan with his family. We’ve laid some foundations, now we’ll see if we’re able to close the deal over the coming days.”

Ausilio also confirmed Inter were on the lookout for a defensive midfielder but dismissed suggestions they were on a hunt for a striker to complement Rodrigo Palacio.

On their attempts to replace Esteban Cambiasso, he said: “We’ve never tried to hide that. It’s even more the case now that we won’t have Cambiasso anymore. We’re certainly on the hunt for a very good player who’s worthy of playing for Inter.

“We’ll need a striker who can weigh in with goals, regardless of his physical characteristics.”