Coach Claudio Ranieri has said Carlos Tevez would be 'very welcome' at Inter Milan but remained cagey over his chances of signing him.
On Monday it emerged that Inter have tabled a £20.7million bid for the Manchester City attacker, though that does not meet the valuation set by City for the Argentine outcast.
"Our offer is 25m Euros - now it depends on them whether they accept," said Inter president Massimo Moratti. "The offer is there. Now we are free to decide whether to go ahead or not."
Former Chelsea boss Ranieri was quizzed about Inter's prospects of winning the race to sign the forward, who has not played for City since refusing to warm-up during a Champions League clash with Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena in late September.
Tevez returned to his homeland without permission shortly after being disciplined for his antics in Germany and has never returned with City now desperate to offload him during this current transfer window.
And, after watching his side defeat derby rivals AC Milan 1-0 in Serie A on Sunday thanks to a strike from Tevez's fellow countryman Diego Milito, Ranieri was not giving much away on the club's chances of signing the City man.
He told Sky Sport Italia: "You never know. Do we really need him? You journalists certainly do."
He later added on Rai Sport: "If he joins he'll be very welcome."
AC Milan failed to agree a deal with City over Tevez last week, while Paris Saint-Germain coach Carlo Ancelotti hinted that the French side could make a swoop.
But Ranieri also insisted he would be happy to work with his current squad of players for the remainder of the season and claimed Tevez would be like a 'present' from the president if he did sign.