Inter Milan: Understanding the Transfer Window

Due to the controversy caused by Inter’s market moves, I have decided to break down Inter’s Transfer Window in order to help fans of football understand why and how, Inter will maneuver through the final weeks of the summer in order to prepare not only for next season, but for a project to be continued for many years to come.

Part I will cover Inter’s new footballing philosophy, and how this has helped to form their transfer policy. Part II will encompass the departures to be expected and why they are happening. Part III will look at the potential arrivals to Inter’s squad for next season.

Goalkeepers

Well, this one is pretty straightforward. This week, Udinese President Pozzo has announced that Samir Handanovic will go to Inter, with the player signature and medical the only things to be taken care of before a deal is closed.

Obviously this means that Inter now have the opportunity to continue to reduce their wage bill under FFP regulations with the departure of their goalkeeping talisman, Julio Cesar.

Unfortunately for both parties, it is time to move on. Inter are now a club that promotes a youthful setup, and does not pay high wages, especially to aging players.

Julio is a player in his early 30′s, entering the final stages of his career, and hoping to be part of a final big contract before his time is up. It is clear why this relationship has come to it’s end.

Julio’s departure is very complicated though. He has stated that he has no intention of leaving, and his wife has slammed the club as disrespectful.

Inter will definitely not have his wages on the books if they have to pay for another Number 1 in Handanovic, so a solution must be found. Many of the top european clubs that can handle Julio’s wages already have top keepers.

Two clubs come to mind as teams needing a top flight keeper, in Tottenham and Milan. Andre Villas-Boas knows Julio from his time at Inter but it is unlikely that Spurs make a move for him, though it would make sense.

Inter would never sell Julio to Milan and they are in a financial crisis that would mean suicide for them to take on his wages. The most likely scenarios are some sort of contract termination, similar to Lucio’s, that would allow Julio to sign elsewhere, or a Brazilian club swooping in for a reasonable transfer fee.

Best for Inter would be to sell him to a Brazilian club in order to get some transfer revenue, but if my money was on it, I would say that Inter and Julio terminate their contract, then Julio signs for a Brazilian club, such as Flamengo.

Only scenario in which he stays with the club, is if he decides to take a pay cut, and work behind Handanovic in the “Toldone” role. This situation needs to be resolved soon, but the complications are many.

Defenders

Defensively, Inter have much to sort out. Getting Lucio’s contract off the books (He was aging, asking for a lot of money, and man, did he look awful at times last season) was a good move and they must continue to move a couple of other parts. Maicon has been wonderful for Inter throughout his stay in Milan, but his situation mirrors Julio Cesar’s exactly.

However, he is much easier to move. Maicon has always seemed to be ok with the fact that he will one day leave Inter. His decision to stay on last year was admirable and he showed his eagerness to help the team. This summer he is also showing his will for the best for the club and understands that his departure is best for the team.

A reunion with Mourinho seemed likely at one point, but now it seems that Maicon is headed to Stamford Bridge with Chelsea for a fee of around 8m (Much lower than what Inter could have gotten for him 1-2 years ago, but the time was not right to sell).

The important part of this departure is that Inter not only clear wages off the books, they also receive some sort of transfer fee, not like the Lucio departure. Another defender on his way out of the San Siro is Marco Davide Faraoni.

After a breakout season, the Wing Back/Wide Midfielder hybrid is expected to be included in the deal for Samir Handanovic on a Co-Ownership. Inter will have 50% of his rights, and he will play for Udinese next season.

Eventually, the two sides will have to decide who gets the full rights to the player, and I hope Inter retain him because he is young, talented, and home-grown (Those damn UEFA rules).

The two Brazilians, Juan Jesus and Jonathan, could also leave Inter this summer. Before Maicon was expected to leave, It was thought that Jonathan was surplus to requirements, but he may stay this season to provide cover to the right wing back spot.

As for Juan Jesus, he’ll need some Seria A experience and playing time. He’ll find it hard behind Samuel, Ranocchia, Chivu, and possibly Matias Silvestre. My thought is that he goes on loan to Bologna, who seem very interested.

In my opinion, re-signing Chivu was a mistake. he has repeatedly proved he can no longer compete at a top level. Stramaccioni has assured him that he will be used at Center Back but I hope Ranocchia, Samuel, and Silvestre (any day now, hopefully) keep Chivu on the bench.

Manchester City, Juventus, and PSG have all been linked to Ranocchia, but what a mistake that would be to sell him. He’s a youthful Italian with talent. We need him. He also fits into Inter’s new policy so I expect him to stay.

Midfielders

More departures are expected in the midfield as well. We will start with Dejan Stankovic. Stankovic has been a loyal servant to Inter for many years, and is the definition of a team player.

Inter are in a rebuilding phase, and Stankovic is the sort of veteran presence in a midfield that would be beneficial to have to guide the younger players. That is why I am so torn over his departure. I understand Inter’s ideas, and being 33 years old, with a contract worth around 5m, does not help Stankovic’s case.

West Ham are interested but I am skeptical as to whether a deal gets done. I do not know if West Ham can afford his wages and if Stankovic has interest in them. They seem to be the only club interested at the moment, so for now thinks are looking pretty bleak regarding his departure. He wants to stay and probably will in a reduced role.

McDonald Mariga has returned from his loan spell and is currently an Inter player. McDonald is a tenacious midfielder, that is not particularly good offensively, and not particularly good defensively. So what to do with him? Well, Stramaccioni has yet to experience him as a squad member, so he may keep him on as reinforcements for the fall, and then ship him out in the winter.

It is more likely that the Inter management actively pursue a transfer for him, but they have other priorities as of right now, and will probably wait until Stramaccioni has trained with him and see what he says, before shipping him out. I expect him to leave towards the end of the window.

Cambiasso has been linked with a number of Turkish clubs with money, but he is in Stramaccioni’s plans and is exactly the veteran presence in the midfield that Inter wants. His wages are particularly hindering and I expect Inter to keep him on. Sneijder has the most expensive wages on the team, but I will not spend much time discussing a possible departure for him.

I said last summer that he would not leave Inter despite the constant stream of people telling me I was crazy and that Manchester United were too big of a club too turn down, but I honestly believe he will stay this summer as well.

Think about it, if Inter’s intentions were to sell Sneijder, there would be no reason to offload Maicon, or Julio Cesar as well. Choosing to offload Maicon and Julio Cesar tells me that they have no intention of selling their star man. They simply do not need to at this point.

Why go through all of the hassle that the Julio Cesar debacle has brought, when it would probably be much easier to sell Sneijder to the highest bidder? The answer is because Moratti believes in Sneijder.

Stramaccioni found a place for Sneijder in his team last season. Sneijder has stated that he believes in Stramaccioni. In my eyes, Wesley will stay in the Black and Blue. Let’s hope my eyes are good.

Attackers

Offensively, Inter have a lot of moving parts. Diego Forlan should be the first to go. He was often injured, and when he did play he was miserable. Stramaccioni seems to rather have money to spend on a replacement instead of keeping Forlan until the end of the year, and I think Inter will find a suitor. Forlan is linked by many South American clubs, and has stated that he wants to play closer to his home in Uruguay.

Good riddance, Forlan will likely be playing in South America next season and latest reports say that he’s on his way to Flamengo. The other major potential departure is that of Giampaolo Pazzini.

Pazzini had a rough season last time around, and Milito’s good form rarely gave Pazzini the opportunity to bounce back. Samuele Longo’s rise, and Mattia Destro’s outstanding season, has led to Inter reconsidering whether they will hold onto Pazzini for the upcoming season.

Pazzini is one of the top earners at the San Siro and clearing his wages would allow for more maneuvering on the transfer market. He is difficult to move however, as their does not seem to be a ton of interest outside of Lazio (their interest has died down) and Sampdoria (a return is difficult with his wages/fee).

It would be good for Inter to sell him in order to receive some more funds, but his situation is similar to Stankovic’s as their is not much interest, and the teams that are interested may be face with an unrealistic situation. I will not make a concrete prediction until the Destro situation with Genoa and Siena is resolved. If Genoa gets Destro, then I believe Inter will pursue him, meaning Pazzini is out.

The other name mentioned as departing is Luc Castaignos. The young dutchman was put in a tough situation, as he was very young for the league and needed time to adapt. Unfortunately, he did not get the playing time to develop. Inter should have loaned him out to a smaller club upon his arrival last summer, and I believe they made a mistake in not doing so.

He has grown unhappy, and has stated that he only wants to play for Inter if he is to stay in Italy, which hinders Inter’s plans to loan him out to an affiliated club such as Genoa, Bologna, or Chievo.

Feyenoord (Loan) and well as West Ham(8m) are interested, but I think Inter should spend time convincing him to stay in Italy on loan to a different club. He is not a major earner, and selling a player with his youth and potential brings back shades of Santon and Balotelli, who’s departures in hindsight, do not look very good now.

Inter should make an effort to hold onto his rights and loan him out. If Forlan leaves, and Inter do not pick up another forward, then I believe they will retain Castaignos.

Coutinho was linked with a move to Udinese, as part of the Handanovic deal, but Inter refused, and he looks set to stay following a promising loan spell at Espanyol.

Samuele Longo also looked to be heading to Genoa earlier in the summer, but Inter have signed him on full, and want him to be a part of the first team.

Revenue

Let’s take a look at the potential revenue caused by these departures:

Julio Cesar – 23m contract value + termination = +23

Dejan Stankovic – 5m contract value + 2-3m fee = +8

Giampaolo Pazzini – 11.5m contract value + 8-10m fee = +21.5

Diego Forlan – 9.75m contract value + 3-4m fee = +13.75

Maicon – 15.75m contract value + 8m fee = +23.75

McDonald Mariga – 1.7m contract value + 2-3m fee = +4.7

Luc Castaignos – 3.2m contract value + 8m fee = +11.2

Marco Davide Faraoni – 1.7 contract value (Inter pays half) = +.85

TOTAL REVENUE = 106.75m

Just having fun.