Italians still Inter Frank swoop

Inter Milan have refused to rule out the possibility of signing Frank Lampard before the transfer window closes.

Inter have been chasing Lampard all summer and have had at least one bid rejected by Chelsea for the player's services. The Italian giants have since turned their attentions to Portsmouth midfielder Sulley Muntari, and even though they are on the verge of striking a £12.8m deal, that does not mean they have taken Lampard off their wanted list.

Inter's chief executive Ernesto Paolillo says Lampard is still a possibility but also admits they are happy with their squad if a deal cannot be hammered out.

"Until the 31st August we have the possibility to make new signings, anything could happen," he told Sky Italia. "I hope that Marco Branca (technical director) will allow us to bring players in.

"(Ricardo) Quaresma and Lampard? They are not fundamental to our plans. At the moment I think that we have a strong squad, but we will see. We know that (Jose) Mourinho likes Lampard, because he has known him for a long time, but the manager is happy with his squad.

"Should they arrive, great, but if they don't, I repeat, we have plenty of good players here already."