Inter are ready to reserve Lazio striker Goran Pandev and sign him on a free transfer at the end of the season, according to Il Corriere Dello Sport.

The report suggests Jose Mourinho is keen on the Aquilotti ace and Pandev has made no secret that he intends to leave the Eternal City club. Indeed, he was left out of the Supercoppa Italiana squad to face Inter on Saturday in Beijing.

Pandev’s future is looking increasingly as if it is away from the Italian capital. He has been linked with a number of clubs, but none of them have been willing to match his €19 million price tag. It is said Inter will wait until 2010 and then land him for free.

The Macedonian’s contract expires next June, and Lazio have not made an attempt to renew it. Any chance of an extension is now looking slim as Claudio Lotito, the club president, has previously warned dissident players they would be punished, and the Supercoppa snub seems to have that ball and chain wrapped around the player’s feet.

Meanwhile, the Nerazzurri’s move for Real Madrid star Wesley Sneijder has taken a blow after Merengues director Jorge Valdano suggested they would be keeping him.

“We are not obliged to sell Sneijder,” Valdano told the Spanish media.