Inter offers Davide Frattesi plus €25m in swap proposal for Manu Koné

Inter have revived a familiar transfer idea with Roma, and this time the structure is more specific. Reports in Italy on May 21 said the Serie A club proposed Davide Frattesi plus around €25 million for Roma midfielder Manu Koné, reviving a concept that had already circulated earlier in 2026. The move would send Frattesi back toward the club where he came through the youth system, while giving Inter another route into a deal for a player they have tracked since at least last summer. Neither club had publicly confirmed an agreement as of Friday. The proposal matters because it tries to solve two problems at once. Inter want Koné without paying the full fee in cash, while Roma would receive both a midfielder and money in the same transaction. Italian outlets including Football Italia, citing La Gazzetta dello Sport, said Inter had previously explored player-plus-cash formulas for Koné before returning with Frattesi again this week. ### How is the deal being described right now? Football Italia reported on May 21 that Inter had put Frattesi into a package with cash for Koné, with the cash portion described at roughly €20 million to €25 million. Other reports in recent weeks had framed the overall valuation for Koné closer to the mid-€40 million to €50 million range, with Frattesi used to narrow the gap. (football-italia.net) La Gazzetta dello Sport was cited by multiple secondary reports as the origin of the latest outline. Football Italia said Inter had wanted Koné last summer and again in the January window, but Roma had resisted those approaches. ### Why is Frattesi the player in the middle of this? Davide Frattesi is an Inter midfielder and a Roma academy product, which makes him an obvious name in talks between the two clubs. (football-italia.net) Inter's official player page lists him in the first-team squad, while Transfermarkt identifies him as Rome-born and places him at Inter after his move from Sassuolo. Earlier reports in March and April had already linked Frattesi to a possible return to Roma as part of an Inter attempt to land Koné. Goal and Football Italia both described him as one of the names Inter could use in a technical exchange, and some Roma-focused reports said his profile would be familiar and potentially useful to the capital club. (inter.it) ### What makes Koné such a target for Inter? Manu Koné is a Roma midfielder and one of the club's more valuable assets. Roma's official website lists him in the men's squad, and several transfer reports this spring described him as Inter's top midfield target for the next window. Reports have also tied Roma's stance to price. In late April, SempreInter said Roma had placed a value of about €45 million on Koné, while other outlets described Inter as working around a total package near €50 million. (goal.com) Those figures help explain why Inter would prefer to include a player rather than fund the move entirely in cash. (asroma.com) ### Is this a new idea or a recycled one? The current proposal is an updated version of a story that has been running for months. Football Italia reported in late March and again in May that Inter were considering Frattesi in a player-plus-cash structure for Koné, and Roma-focused outlets said the two midfielders had been linked in parallel since at least early April. (sempreinter.com) That history matters because it shows the latest report did not emerge in isolation. The names, the clubs and even the broad financial logic had already appeared in earlier coverage, with the new development being the renewed push and the more defined €20 million-€25 million cash figure. ### What still has to happen before anything moves? (football-italia.net) Roma still have to decide whether Frattesi is the right player component and whether the cash figure is enough. No report reviewed here said the clubs had reached a final agreement, and none indicated that medicals, contracts or a closing date had been set. The next step is likely to be further talks between Inter and Roma once the summer market planning becomes more concrete. (football-italia.net) For now, the clearest public marker is the reported structure itself: Frattesi plus about €25 million for Koné, with Roma's answer determining whether the discussion advances or stalls.