In the family of rosy everyday clubs, I ask for Inter Milan. Simone Inzaghi’s Nerazzurri have had a fantastic start to the season. With the 2nd best attack in Italy and the 4th best defense, the residents of the Giuseppe-Meazza stadium are more than ever in the race for a new Scudetto alongside Napoli, Atalanta, Fiorentina and Lazio . All these teams are in a tight spot, while Inter is also in a very good position in the Champions League with this magnificent 2nd place behind Liverpool in the ranking of this championship phase. They will also soon enter the competition in the Coppa, then compete in Saudi Arabia for the Final Four of the Supercoppa next January. While everything is going well, many are wondering what Giuseppe Marotta, president of Inter, will do during the winter transfer window, he who is used to locking in signatures at €0 with future players at the end of their contract.
“I don’t know, we are still active and we are already looking towards next season. We can continue this season with this group, homogeneous and well supervised. There are injuries on all teams, but with the squad available, we can cope with our numerous commitments. In sport, you have to be ambitious and not arrogant. Inter is participating to get the most out of it while respecting its opponents. We are doing well, we will try to make the most of it and if there are stronger teams we will congratulate them», Recently declared the president of Inter. Communication strategy or real announcement over the coming months? In any case, one thing is certain: Inter is doing well and can afford to look towards the future, with its eyes fixed on a continent where football is elevated to the rank of art, and which provides an incalculable number of young nuggets for tomorrow. South America, the hunting ground of John Textor who intends to exploit the nuggets for his OL.
Two players from the Lyon galaxy in the viewfinder
It’s an open secret, but Inter have always had a strong connection with South American talent. From Javier Zanetti to Ronaldo via Esteban Cambiasso, Julio Cesar, Iván Córdoba, Walter Samuel, Maicon, Lucio and Diego Milito, Internazionale lives up to its name very well and again recently with the glorious hours of Lautaro Martinez, Mauro Icardi and even Alexis Sanchez. In this sense, faithful to its philosophy, the Gazzetta dello Sport we learn today that vice sports director Dario Baccin was sent on a special mission to South America by Inter Milan, in search of new South American talents. After watching the final of the Copa Libertadores between Botafogo and Atlético Mineiro, the leader of the Nerazzurri will stay for a few more days to find several interesting profiles to follow with more attention, before launching negotiations. We are talking in particular about Pablo Maia (São Paulo), Christian Médina (Boca Juniors), Franco Mastantuono (River Plate), Lorran (Flamengo), Kevin Zénon (Boca Juniors), Vitor Reis (Palmeiras), Valentin Gomez (Velez) and Leonardo Fernández (Peñarol).
But then what does this have to do with Olympique Lyonnais and John Textor? At the top of the list of gems to watch is Thiago Almada, a Botafogo player who has a future with Les Gones. The 23-year-old Argentinian recently said about his future: “when I arrived, I planned some time to then go to Europe. For the moment, I have an agreement with Lyon, which I spoke about with the owner of the club (John Textor, Editor’s note), which is the same as Botafogo», declared the native of Buenos Aires (15 matches, 3 goals with the Brazilian club). His teammate Luiz Henrique is also on Dario Baccin’s shortlist. The Brazilian striker said after the Copa Libertadores victory: “I don’t know (if I stay in Botafogo)… I want to enjoy this moment with the group, with my family. We will solve this problem later…», therefore not completely closing the door to a departure. These two South Americans, long linked to a possible future for OL, are beginning to attract the desire of big European names including Inter Milan. Caution.
