Eto’o poised for Inter switch

SAMUEL ETO’O was last night on the brink of joining Inter Milan on a five-year deal after agreeing terms with the Serie A champions yesterday afternoon.

Inter have been in negotiations with Eto’o and his agent for the past few days after Barcelona had an offer of €45 million plus the Cameroon striker for Zlatan Ibrahimovic accepted. Alexander Hleb will also join Inter on loan.

And, after yesterday’s meeting with the Serie A champions, Josep Maria Mesalles revealed his client will finalise his move to the San Siro shortly.

“There’s complete agreement with Inter,” he said. “The negotiations are complete but it’s not possible to say that the footballer now belongs to Inter because his release from Barcelona has not been resolved yet. But that won’t be a problem. The deal is for five years, the player is happy.”

Last night Inter president Massimo Moratti was unwilling to confirm a deal had been done for Eto’o, but revealed it could go through shortly.

Responding to Mesalles’ comments that Eto’o had all but signed, Moratti said: “I repeat what I said this morning. I like everyone’s interviews, but I prefer to wait until it’s official.”

When then asked if a deal had been done, he replied: “Almost, so let’s wait.

“I don’t know (when the deal will be completed).

“When it arrives, it arrives, but it’s not as if it’s a race against time.”