Rumour Mongering: Inter Milan Target Veteran Liverpool Midfielder Lucas Leiva

Midfielder Lucas Leiva was unavailable against Arsenal on Sunday due to a hamstring strain suffered in pre-season and expected to keep him sidelined for at least one more week. Whether he’s still at Liverpool once that week is up and he’s again fit, though, remains a question, even with a rumoured move to Galatasaray having fallen through.

That’s because according to Gazzaercato in Italy, Lucas has become a target for Inter Milan, who are set to lose Marcelo Brozovic to Juventus and feel the need to bring in a steady hand in midfield to replace him. With just a year left on his Liverpool contract, the suggestion is they’re seriously considering 29-year-old Lucas as a potential bargain.

On paper, it’s not the least reasonable rumour to have ever come out of the notoriously unreliable rumour mills of Italy. Lucas does have just a year left to go on his contract, and a Serie A move might help to revive and prolong his career if regular starting minutes is the goal given age and injuries have increasingly become an issue for him in England.

And certainly on the tactical and mental side of the game, there are few cannier veteran holding players out there than Liverpool’s defensive Brazilian. Meanwhile, for the prestige of both club and league, Inter and Italy would certainly make for a more desirable destination for Lucas than would Galatasaray and politically tumultuous Turkey.

Of course, making sense on paper doesn’t mean that it’s a done deal, not when it’s a story so far only being passed along in England from those notoriously unreliable Italian rumour mills. Plus Jürgen Klopp has made it clear that while he might not stand in Lucas’ way if the player wants to leave, he’s certainly not pushing him out the door.

Still, on paper at least it’s a reasonable transfer rumour, and if the expected sale of Brozovic goes through, it wouldn’t be surprising to see it start to gather steam in the coming days.