Inter Push Pavard Towards Exit Amid Al-Ittihad and Diaby Negotiations

Inter’s backline is being redrawn, and Benjamin Pavard is finding himself on the wrong side of the new blueprint.

Cristian Chivu has started to shape his own era at the Giuseppe Meazza, and the French World Cup winner no longer fits into the technical plans. Inside the club, the decision has been made: Inter need room in the squad and on the wage bill, and Pavard is the obvious casualty.

The timing is no coincidence. Inter have reached an initial agreement to bring in Cristian Romero from Tottenham Hotspur, a move that changes both the hierarchy in defence and the financial equation. Keeping Pavard on a substantial salary while Romero walks through the door makes little sense. Economically and technically, his exit has become a necessity rather than an option.

So Inter have moved. Hard.

Fabrizio Romano revealed live on his YouTube channel that the Nerazzurri have offered Pavard to Al-Ittihad and other clubs, looking to accelerate a transfer that would unlock fresh cash for their summer plans. They are not waiting for suitors to queue up; they are actively placing him on the market.

The problem? Pavard is not playing along at the same speed.

He remains a defender with serious pedigree, and interest from major European clubs has not disappeared. Yet his next destination is still wide open, because he has already rejected official offers that have landed on his table. Inter want this saga closed quickly. The player does not.

Italian reports paint a clear picture. According to “Tuttosport”, Pavard has turned down proposals from Benfica and Galatasaray, even though he recognises there is no real future for him under Chivu’s new direction. He is in no rush, even as the pressure from Milan grows.

Al-Ittihad, though, sit in a different category. The Saudi club appeal to him for more than just a lucrative contract. The chance to share a dressing room and a league with a cluster of global stars gives the move a certain sporting and lifestyle pull. Jeddah is no longer a final stop; it is part of the new football map.

For Inter, a deal with Al-Ittihad would do more than tidy up their books. It would fuel the next phase of their recruitment. One of the names on their attacking shortlist is Atletico Madrid winger Nico Gonzalez, highlighted in Italian reports as a target to bolster their forward options for next season. Pavard out, Romero and an attacking reinforcement in: that is the domino effect they are chasing.

But while Inter try to send one Frenchman to Jeddah, another Frenchman is at the centre of a tug-of-war inside Al-Ittihad.

Moussa Diaby has become a fault line between the Saudi club’s ambitions and outside interest. Al-Ittihad want to strengthen, not dismantle, yet reports indicate the winger’s agent is pushing hard to engineer an exit from “Al-Ameed”. The club’s hierarchy, though, are digging in.

The message from inside Jeddah has been firm. They are not prepared to lose one of their most important playmakers on the back of what they see as undervalued offers, especially when those bids would not even cover the cost of signing a suitable replacement.

Saudi media figure Hattan Al-Najjar underlined that stance in a post on X, insisting there is “no intention at Al-Ittihad to sell Moussa Diaby.” He described the offers on the table as weak compared to the player’s value and importance and made it clear that pressure from the player’s agent or a German club would not shift the club’s position. He put a number on it too: 40 million euros as the fair value, and only then would Al-Ittihad even consider a sale.

That figure is not random. It sits right at the heart of Inter’s interest.

According to media figure Mohammed Al-Bakiri, Inter have already adjusted their approach to try and land Diaby this summer. Al-Ittihad, he reported on X, hesitated over a 40 million euro proposal for a permanent transfer. Inter then returned with a different idea: a season-long loan worth 28 million euros. The structure might suit the Italians. It does not particularly tempt the player, who would rather secure a permanent move if he leaves Saudi Arabia.

The story becomes even more tangled when another version emerges. Newspaper “Al-Riyadiah” claims Al-Ittihad have received an official offer from Inter worth 18 million euros plus Albanian midfielder Kristjan Asllani in exchange for Diaby. Two valuations, two structures, one target. The negotiations are being played out in public, and the numbers are being watched closely.

Diaby is no stranger to this kind of noise. This is not the first time he has been linked with a move away from Al-Ittihad, and every previous episode has ended the same way: with the Frenchman still in black and yellow, still a key figure.

Now the plot thickens. Inter are circling both ends of Al-Ittihad’s market: offering Pavard to the Saudis to ease their own rebuild, while probing the club’s resolve over Diaby. Al-Ittihad, for their part, are trying to add without losing their spark on the wing, all under the glare of agents, valuations and public declarations.

Somewhere between Milan and Jeddah, between Pavard’s reluctance and Diaby’s uncertain horizon, a decisive move will break this stalemate. The only question is which club blinks first.