Inter Milan 'target Stefan de Vrij to replace' Barcelona and Manchester United target Milan Skriniar

Inter Milan are said to be interested in signing Stefan de Vrij from Lazio to replace Milan Skriniar following speculation in January linking the Slovakia international with Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United and Manchester City.

Mundo Deportivo says that the Serie A outfit need to balance their books and are already preparing for life without both the coveted centre-back and Mauro Icardi.

Icardi has been heavily linked with Real [ESPN] in recent months following an impressive opening half of the campaign at Luciano Spalletti's side, during which he has scored 18 goals in 22 Serie A appearances.

The Spanish publication says that Inter are set to sign Racing Club starlet Lautaro Martinez to replace Icardi, with the Italian side having already agreed to pay €25m (£22m, $30.6m) to beat Atletico Madrid to the signing of the Argentine starlet ahead of the upcoming summer transfer window.

Mundo Deportivo says that Lautaro's arrival will precede Icardi's summer exit and Inter now look ready to do the same with Skriniar.

The Spanish publication says that the Serie A giants have already opened talks to sign Stefan de Vrij ahead of the summer having identified the Lazio centre-back as the replacement for the Slovakia international.

Inter need to balance their books and it is understood that they could sign both Lautaro and de Vrij and still make a profit on the sales of Icardi and Skriniar.

Nevertheless, the 22-year-old centre-back only joined Inter from Sampdoria in the summer but has become into one of the most sought-after players around Europe in his position.

Indeed Skriniar's agent Karol Csonto revealed in January that Inter turned down an offer worth £57m to part ways with his client as the Italians didn't want to lose him in the middle of the season.

Csonto failed to revealed the identity of the suitor but he added that Barcelona, Real, Manchester United and City had expressed interest in signing.

"I knew he would never leave in this window, but I can confirm that big clubs like Barcelona, Real Madrid and the two Manchester clubs are interested," the agent was quoted as saying by the Sun.

"And I can also add that one of these clubs has made a £57m bid for him. Inter rejected it, telling me that they can't afford to lose their defender now. I can't really say [whether Skriniar could move in the summer], but there are still a lot of months and a lot can happen."

Mundo Deportivo says that the offer didn't come from Barcelona but the Catalans are interested in him ahead of the upcoming summer transfer window.

Manager Ernesto Valverde currently have Gerard Pique, Samuel Umtiti, Yerry Mina and Thomas Vermaelen to cover the centre-back position but Pique is already 31 years old and the long-term future of the Belgium international at the Nou Camp remains up in the air.

According to Mundo Deportivo, Skriniar has thus been included on Barcelona shopping list of centre-backs alongside Ajax starlet Matthijs de Ligt and Bayer Leverkusen youngster Panagiotis Retsos.

The news claiming that Inter are ready to part ways with the Slovakian could come as a boost for the La Liga giants but luring him away from Inter is likely to cost more than the £57m fee that Inter already rejected in January.

City are unlikely to retain an interest after they signed Aymeric Laporte from Athletic Club Bilbao during theJanuary transfer window.

Barcelona still could face competition from Real and United with both European giants said to be on the hunt for a new defender ahead of the 2018-2019 campaign.