EDER STAYS LOYAL

Eder rejected 'top clubs' to stay at Internazionale

Eder accepts he will not play every game under Frank de Boer but insists he was happy to snub offers from elsewhere to stay at Inter.

Inter forward Eder has revealed that he rejected "two or three offers from top clubs" in order to stay at San Siro.

The 29-year-old joined from Sampdoria in January but struggled to find form under Roberto Mancini, scoring just once in 14 Serie A appearances as Inter finished fourth.

The Italy international has been linked with a move to the Chinese Super League in recent weeks, while West Ham were also rumoured to be considering a bid to take him to the Premier League.

Eder, however, says he is committed to the project at Inter after turning down advances from elsewhere.

"Some might forget that I arrived during the most difficult time of the season for Inter, yet even during that time I was calm," he told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "Now, we are all starting again from scratch.

"I read a lot about interest from the Chinese league but I never thought about it. If I'm honest, I received two or three offers from top clubs but I wanted to stay at Inter because I feel like I'm part of an important project which is in place.

"I play for a great club and there are a lot of talented players in the squad and we all want to work hard for each other."

Eder scored in Inter's 2-0 International Champions Cup win over Celtic on Saturday as Frank de Boer enjoyed a winning start to his career at the club, after he signed a three-year deal to succeed Mancini as head coach.

The Brazil-born striker says his team-mates have already embraced De Boer's demands for a high-pressing system but accepts that he faces a fight to earn a regular spot in the first team.

"Every coach has their own vision on football. De Boer comes from a different league and therefore has his own identity. We understand what he wants, it is up to us to put his instructions into practice," he said.

"He always wants us to be a compact team, both offensively and defensively. He always wants us to put pressure on the opposition whenever they have the ball and recover possession quickly in the opponents' half of the field.

"I know and the coach also has his ideas. De Boer will make his choices and I know that I can't play every game."