Inter Make Improved 'Loan With View to £30m Transfer' Bid for Barca Outcast Rafinha

Inter Milan have made a renewed offer for Barcelona outcast Rafinha after they saw their opening £17m bid rejected.

La Correire della Sera (h/t Football Italia) has alleged that the sleeping Serie A giants have returned to the negotiating table with an improved offer to tempt Barca to part with the midfielder.

Inter have offered to take Rafinha on loan for the rest of the season and, if his transfer proves to be a success, he will make a permanent switch to the tune of £30m.

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Barca had insisted upon Inter buying the 24-year-old outright if they qualify for next season's Champions League but, after the San Siro-based side declined to make that commitment, the current La Liga leaders walked away from discussions.

Inter have now returned with a better bid for Rafinha and hope that the promise of more cash will see La Blaugrana agree to let the Brazil international discuss personal terms with Luciano Spalletti's team.

Rafinha is thought to be keen on a switch to Italy's top flight after finding game time a rare commodity under Ernesto Valverde at Camp Nou.

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The Barcelona youth product made his first appearance in nine months in his side's Copa del Rey defeat to Espanyol on Wednesday evening - the centre midfielder appearing from the bench as a 78th-minute substitute.

Rafinha has only made 78 first-team appearances in the past five seasons since he emerged from Barca's La Masia academy, thanks in no small part to a meniscus tear suffered during a clash with Granada last April.

Since his return to fitness, however, Rafinha has struggled to convince Valverde that he deserves a place in the starting lineup and has now sought a move away from north east Spain.

Inter are restricted by how much transfer business they can do in January due to Financial Fair Play rules, and are unable to purchase Rafinha outright until the summer.

That has led the Italian club to offer Barca a six-month loan for Rafinha's services with the hope of buying him at the end of this term.