Report: Inter Milan to Revive Interest in Real Madrid's Luka Modric in January

Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric will reportedly be the subject of a renewed bid from Inter Milan in January, with the club understood to be on the verge of appointing former Juventus CEO Beppe Marotta. 

Tuttosport (h/t TalkSport) reported the Nerazzurri are close to naming ex-Juve transfer guru Marotta in some capacity, and they'll hope his influence can push a deal for Modric over the line this winter.

The Croatia international was linked with a move to the San Siro over the summer and could be tempted to jump ship after Real lost 5-1 to Barcelona on Sunday, their fifth defeat in seven matches.

Corriere della Sera (h/t Calciomercato.com) reported Marotta is even willing to take a cut in severance pay from Juventus in order to push his move to Inter across the line.

Juventus blogger Arjun Pradeep posted a Tuttosport front cover from earlier in October detailing how substantial that figure was:

Modric is aiming to win the 2018 Ballon d'Or after he was named The Best FIFA's Men's Player for 2018 in September. The 33-year-old was a driving force behind Croatia's runner-up finish at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, while he also won a third successive UEFA Champions League with Los Blancos in May.

All that helped encourage talk of interest from Inter, who already have several of the player's Croat compatriots in their squad: Ivan Perisic, Marcelo Brozovic and Sime Vrsaljko (on loan from Atletico Madrid).

The playmaker is in his seventh season with Real but has only 20 months left to run on his contract. That means the winter and summer transfer windows of 2019 may be Real's last opportunities to demand a premium sum for their veteran.

Modric has in any case indicated he has no intention of leaving Real and said in August that he was content in Madrid, via Omnisport:

The Italian figurehead was highly regarded as a mastermind in helping Juventus achieve their success in recent years, having also played a part in getting £100 million man Cristiano Ronaldo to Turin this past summer.

The interest in Modric means Real may lose another of their high-profile stars to Serie A, and Massimiliano Allegri recently praised Marotta's effect at his club after the latter's departure from the Allianz Stadium was confirmed:

The Nerazzurri have already illustrated they have considerable resources and appeal to high-quality stars after a busy summer transfer window.

Radja Nainggolan's capture from AS Roma looks like their biggest coup, while Argentinian striker Lautaro Martinez was also a fine signing, along with the free acquisitions of Stefan De Vrij and Kwadwo Asamoah.

Modric would be another step up from that calibre, however, and Inter may be close to bringing in the Serie A supremo who can help negotiate their way to his capture.