Inter Milan coach Antonio Conte yesterday faced a barrage of questions about Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku, a day before the two teams are scheduled to clash in the International Champions Cup (ICC) at the National Stadium.
The Italian Serie A side have been heavily linked with the 26-year-old Belgian, and are reportedly lining up a bid of around £60 million (S$102.2 million) with £15 million in add-ons while United are looking to at least recoup the £75 million they signed him for in 2017.
Lukaku, who appeared briefly during United's training session yesterday but only sat on the bench, will not feature in the match tonight after he was deemed "not fit" by United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Looking frazzled as he stepped into his press conference at the National Stadium yesterday, Conte admitted that he was unhappy by the protracted pursuit of Lukaku.
The 49-year-old, who was sacked as Chelsea manager last year, said: "I think frustrated is a big word. Lukaku is a United player, this is the reality. I like him as a player, and (previously), I tried to bring him to Chelsea.
"But today, Lukaku is a player of Manchester United. That is the reality and the truth."
Conte is said to be desperate to sign Lukaku to spearhead Inter's bid for a first Serie A title since 2010 after the club's chief executive officer Giuseppe Marotta announced earlier this month that star striker Mauro Icardi has no role in the team's future plans.
Icardi, in turn, has been linked with a move to United, but Solskjaer has kept mum about his reported interest in the Argentinian, who has scored 124 goals in 219 games for Inter.
Despite confirming his interest in Lukaku, Conte added: "I think it's not right to talk about Lukaku, because I respect United.
"I like this player and consider him an important player (if we are) to make an improvement but, at the same time, there is a market, and we know very well what our situation is in this moment."
This is the second time Conte has travelled to Singapore for the pre-season ICC tournament, having also led Chelsea in 2017.
And, while he arrived in the Republic two years ago on the back of a successful season after lifting the English Premier League title, he appears to already feel the heat just two months into his appointment at Inter.
Donning a cap during yesterday's training session at the National Stadium, he managed a brief smile as his players took part in a game of keep-ball exercise, but then told the media to leave the session after just 10 minutes of the hour-long session.
United and fellow EPL side Tottenham, who trained earlier in the day, allowed fans and media to watch their whole sessions.
Tipped by several pundits to be the man to return the Nerazzurri back to their glory days, Conte said his squad are "a little behind" where he would like them to be, in terms of preparation for the new season as well as the make-up.
"Our communication (between him and the club's management) was to try show ambition," said Conte. "This must be our target but, on one side, there are words, on another are facts, and it's very difficult to keep the same ambition.
"At the same time, we have to work very hard. We have to do what we have said, (deliver) the vision we share, and it's important that (transfers) happen, both in terms of exits and arrivals, in the next one or two weeks."
