A missed deal: Inter Milan cut off Barcelona with an official move

The Italian club settles its player's situation,

Barcelona have suffered a fresh blow in their pursuit of Inter Milan full-back Federico Dimarco. The Italian club have moved to tie down their player, making any summer switch to Catalonia far harder to pull off.

Barça had kept close tabs on Dimarco, whose previous deal was running down towards its June 2027 expiry. That left him firmly on the sporting department's shortlist, with Hansi Flick keen to add a left-back blessed with genuine attacking quality.

Catalan newspaper "Sport" report that Inter have triggered the extension clause in his contract for a further season, keeping him at the club until June 2028. President Giuseppe Marotta confirmed as much, explaining that the board used the agreed clause to lock in another year.

Marotta said: "We activated the clause agreed with him, although it was a unilateral measure, but we agreed to extend his contract for an additional year."

The Inter president went on: "Dimarco wants to stay, and we want him too, and we are happy with that. Feelings of belonging to the club must take priority over any other considerations."

Inter aren't stopping there. The board have opened talks with the player's representatives over a longer, improved deal, determined to keep one of their most important players for years to come.

Barcelona tried to land Dimarco last summer, even weighing up a swap deal that would have sent Alejandro Baldé to Milan with the Italian heading to the Camp Nou. The two sides never reached an agreement.

Now the task looks tougher still. Dimarco's extension runs to 2028, and the player himself has made clear he wants to stay at Inter. That slashes the odds of a move to Spain and sends Barça back to the drawing board in their search to reinforce the left flank.