1. FFP is real. City can cheat it. Inter can't. We don't have enough money to bribe like them, and more importantly, I believe we have more ethics.
To specifically address the FFP issue, selling Skriniar "for FFP" is just the easy way out and we'd be hacks to take it.
Conte simply isn't convinced by Skriniar. And to be fair, Skriniar has indeed been very poor. Maybe with time and hard work, Skriniar can improve to fit in Conte's tactical system like Godin has done. But Conte doesn't want to hang around and wait to see if that gamble pays off or not. What if Skriniar never adapts? Conte wants a CB he can trust right now. Our scouts/technical department have apparently identified that player as Kumbulla. The fact that Skriniar can generate a healthy plusvalenza is convenient, but not the deciding factor by any means.
In the past we've bent over backwards (credit to Ausilio where it's due) to meet FFP and still buy good players. It was only 2 years ago we had to meet some €50m capital gains bullshit. The media was going on non-stop about us sacrificing one of Icardi, Brozovic, Skriniar or Perisic (our most valuable players at the time). Of course, in the end we didn't lose any of them. Instead, we managed to meet our various FFP & settlement agreement obligations it through all manner of youth sales, loans and other plusvalenza generating moves etc.
My point is, we can easily do that again if we try. Selling Skriniar "for FFP purposes" is like getting liposuction instead of dieting and working out. It's bullshit and it's just a quick fix - like I said, the easy way out.
IF the intention to keep Skriniar is there, we can do it. 100% we can do it. For us to put Skriniar on the market is only partially for financial reasons.
But we all knew this was a likelihood when hiring Marotta. He is ruthlessly pragmatic in sales and isn't afraid to sacrifice any fan favorites. For Marotta, every player has their price. As brehme accurately said, that's just who Marotta is. I disagree with brehme's assessment that Marotta's overrated but that's a separate issue.
My hope is that Skriniar rejects a move elsewhere, let alone a swap move for that fucking trashcan Ndombele. I hope that he'll stay, follow Godin's example, quietly work his ass off and successfully adapt to the system. (Now I just sound like a hopeless romantic)