Sweden forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic is edging closer to a transfer to Barcelona from Inter Milan, Spanish media reported on Friday.

The deal would be worth €40-million along with Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o and Belarus midfielder Alexander Hleb going to Italy, the latter on loan, according to the AS and Marca sports dailies.

Cadena SER radio added that the transfer could be nailed down in the coming 72 hours following talks on Thursday in Milan between Barca president Joan Laporta and Inter counterpart Massimo Moratti.

Ibrahimovic, who has been with Inter since 2004, is considered one of the best strikers in European football but has hinted on several occasions that he was ready for a move to Spain from Italy.

Moratti confirmed in comments made to the inter.it website on Friday that "we are trying to conclude for Hleb, and we obviously talked about other things because for them it was interesting to know something about Ibrahimovic".

"We also spoke about Eto'o to understand if it's possible to do a deal with these two players. But this meeting was something between two presidents to understand if there are other possibilities to work together."

Moratti insisted that any deal involving Ibrahimovic would necessitate the transfer of Eto'o.

"If an operation of this kind was carried out, it would regard both players," the Inter president said.

AFP

Vintage start to the Open Written in a castle with limited connectivity, Dan Nicholl talks up the Scottish experience.

Is the Tri-Nations needed? iafrica.com columnist Jon Harris is struggling to get excited about the 2009 Tri-Nations.

How to beat the 'bonk' With riders burning 10,000 calories per day, the right fuel is essential to avoid the 'bonk'.