Manchester City Transfer News: Inter Rumoured to Value Milan Skriniar at £70m

Manchester City will reportedly have to shell out at least £70 million if they want to sign Inter Milan centre-back Milan Skriniar this summer, although the defender has said he's happy at the San Siro.

That's the price tag Inter are understood to have placed on their star defender, according to Italian newspaper Tuttosport (h/t TalkSport), although the Serie A side want to keep hold of their talisman.

Skriniar is said to have been the subject of a £57 million offer from City during the January transfer window, but the bid was rejected before the Citizens completed a late move to sign Athletic Bilbao's Aymeric Laporte.

The Slovakia international arrived at the San Siro from Sampdoria only last summer and has formed an effective partnership with Joao Miranda, contributing well in attack as well as defence, per OptaPaolo:

City's acquisition of Laporte boosted their centre-back options significantly, and the Frenchman now offers another alternative to the likes of captain Vincent Kompany, John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi.

Eliaquim Mangala has failed to make much of an impact at the Etihad Stadium since arriving from Porto in 2014, and he could be liable to leave at the end of this season after seeing out a loan spell at Everton.

Kompany has missed a total of 85 matches due to injury since the beginning of the 2015-16 season, per Transfermarkt, and he's set to turn 32 in April, which may naturally increase fears regarding his long-term status at the club.

Inter's alleged valuation of the player may seem inflated at first glance, but commentator Adam Summerton hailed his immense value in the summer, suggesting the latest figure may be closer to an accurate price tag in today's market:

But the player has said he's not interested in an exit in any case, and FourFourTwo provided quotes from an interview Skriniar recently gave to a Slovak media outlet dismissing his desire to seek an exit:

"I see myself here at Inter for many years. I've never said I wanted to leave, just that anything can happen. ... I just want to help the team, by scoring too if I can. Defensively we have often conceded with the opposition's first shot, which doesn't help confidence, but finally we have managed to avoid conceding."

At just 23 years of age, Skriniar could patrol back lines for another 10 years or more, having already earned 14 caps for Slovakia and establishing himself as one of Serie A's best defenders.

Skriniar is yet to miss a minute of Inter's league campaign and has been an omnipresent force under manager Luciano Spalletti, who's sure to be eager to keep hold of the player beyond this season.

City are stockpiling elite players in all areas and look to be concentrating on defence next, although Inter will make them fork out big if they want to complete a swoop for Skriniar.