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Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur linked Koni De Winter is close to reaching a personal agreement with Inter Milan, but the Italians cannot sign him now.
De Winter has been attracting attention from Premier League sides this summer.
Crystal Palace, who have now been demoted to the Conference League due to their ownership issues with John Textor, are likely to lose their captain, Marc Guehi, who Liverpool want.
Palace have been looking to bring in two defenders in the window and they were on the brink of signing De Winter recently, before uncertainty around European competition saw the move stall.
Tottenham are also interested in the Genoa defender and have asked about him.
Thomas Frank’s men could lose Cristian Romero, who wants to join Atletico Madrid this summer.
The pair though are firmly on the backfoot when it comes to signing De Winter, with Inter Milan making real and solid progress.
According to Belgian journalist Pieter-Jan Calcoen, the 23-year-old is close to reaching on terms with the Champions League runners-up.
Competition Finish Serie A Runners-up Champions League Runners-up Coppa Italia Semi-final FIFA Club World Cup Last 16 Inter Milan last season
While De Winter may be happy to make the move, it cannot happen now, with Inter Milan preferring to sell before sanctioning a purchase.
The Serie A giants have been open to selling defender Yann Bisseck, who has multiple clubs interested in him.
De Winter joined Genoa from Juventus last summer on a permanent deal and his performances at the Italian club have generated interest from clubs around Europe.
If Crystal Palace or Tottenham do not want to lose out on De Winter then there may be a window of opportunity to strike given Inter Milan’s position.
The Premier League pair though likely need to step up their interest quickly.