It's not official yet but Mateo Kovacic would be sold to Real Madrid. The news is disappointing to hear. Very disappointing for me personally as the Croatian was fast becoming my favourite player at Inter. He was worthy to wear the number 10 jersey that was once worn by one of my all-time favourites, Roberto Baggio and that was last worn rightfully by Wesley Sneijder. The only consolation for me is that he is not going to Liverpool like Coutinho did. This as well as the signings made in the summer so far epitomises the lack of planning and strategy in Inter's transfer policy. You can say it's typical of Inter to buy quick and fast and lack patience and/or to buy and then not plan on how to manage the resources and squad size.
This season onwards, Serie A squads have been capped to only 25 players per squad and it was no secret. The directors knew it all along but yet before they could sell, they bought and they bought a lot. They now face the predicament of offloading players. All summer, the club has struggled to sell players especially with players turning down moves elsewhere. Finally, at long last, the club managed to offload Xherdan Shaqiri after he was offered to many different clubs. He was sold to the first club that he was offered to, Stoke City after failing to agree to a move there earlier in the summer. Shaqiri only lasted 6 months at the club. He had come to Inter with aplomb and amidst great excitement. He started off well but then tailed off. It's too soon to sell a player that had just been bought 6 months ago unless there was a falling out of sorts with the manager Roberto Mancini. On top of the squad cap, the club had to adhere to UEFA's Financial Fair Play rules which has been something the club started doing since they won the Treble as it tried reduce its debts. It has resulted in significant weakening of the squad without signing replacements of sufficient quality.
Why did we sign Shaqiri, a player with obvious quality, in the winter on a 4 year contract only to sell him 6 months later? I just can't understand it at all unless the player himself wanted to move or he fell out with the manager. Santon too was signed in the winter. He had hardly played at Newcastle before his move to Inter and understandably after a strong start, he would tail off due to the lack of fitness just like Shaqiri and he was also offered to other clubs. Why, oh why? His performances in pre-season have been jittery but he deserves time and faith for at least one full season. Danilo D'Ambrosio played well under Mancini last season and he is transfer listed. Why?! Beats me! Martin Montoya who was signed from Barcelona in the summer hasn't quite set the world alight with his performances. D'Ambrosio deserves his spot at right back. Signing Jeison Murillo looks like a very good decision and the decision could be vindicated if all goes well. However, I am not too sure on the signing of Miranda. We'll see how that turns out. I'd rather have him as back up. It's sad though that captain Andrea Ranocchia has been kept out of the starting lineup. He has had some shaky performances I admit but on his day he can be as good as anyone. I would prefer to see the pairing of Murillo-Ranocchia at centre back. Nemanja Vidic had a bad season. He did redeem himself somewhat in the closing months of last season but I wouldn't be surprised if he was sold. There are rumours Juan Jesus could be sold. He is a good back up to have at centre back and an option at left back but not great in both positions so I wouldn't mind if he is sold. I would rather keep Marco Andreolli at centre back as cover because to be fair, he has always done well at centre back when he has played. He doesn't deserve to be sold. Yuto Nagatomo could be sold and it would be sad when that happens as he has always given his best when he has played and a favourite with fans and team-mates but I understand the reason for it when it happens. He is under-rated slightly and as an Asian, I am proud to see a fellow Asian playing at one of my favourite clubs. Ezequiel Schelotto and Dodo are two players clearly surplus to requirements as well.
In midfield, a big deal was made out of the signing of Geoffrey Kondogbia. He is not the best player in the world. Let's be honest, we didn't sign Andres Iniesta. He is still a relative youngster and has a huge price tag to live up to as well as having to adjust to playing in Serie A which might not be the easiest thing to do so please give him time and pipe down on your expectations of him. Thank God we have kept Gary Medel so far. He did well and the best he could last season in his position. Marcelo Brovozic is growing into an influential player in pre-season and would be one to watch out for. Thank God we did not sign Felipe Melo because that would have been the most unnecessary signing of the summer. Assane Gnoukouri, a product of our youth academy is getting opportunities to play in the first team and that is nice to see. Hopefully more would follow. I am disappointed to see Marco Benassi leave for Torino. He did well there last season in Serie A, the Europa League and for the Italy U21s at the Euro U21. He would have been good to have in the squad. I certainly would not mind seeing Fredy Guarin, a player that has frustrated me and lots of fans with his inconsistent displays, leave. Another player I don't mind seeing leave would be Hernanes. We have only seen the best of him in flashes which is something you do not expect from an established player who is not new to Italian football. There's also forgotten and unwanted man Saphir Taider who had a strong start to life at Inter under Walter Mazzari to be sold as well. The imminent departure of Kovacic is another disappointment. I hope and pray for a miracle and the move falls through.
Up front, I would have made the brave decision in cashing in on Mauro Icardi. He might have been top scorer last season but I feel he is over-rated. I do have a moral vendetta against him for what he did to his best friend, Maxi Lopez which could cloud my judgement but the lack of goals in pre-season seems to vindicate my point. We would have got lots of money from his sale and I feel he is less integral to Inter's present and future plans than Kovacic. Rodrigo Palacio is getting on in age but always gives us more than 100% in every game. He might be losing pace but I hope he stays injury-free because he can be really dangerous when he is sharp. The signing of Stevan Jovetic is a good one. I am excited to see him play and its been a long time since I have been excited by Inter signing an attacker. I just hope he can rediscover his Fiorentina form and that he hasn't become a talent spoilt and wasted by Manchester City. We have re-signed Jonathan Biabiany who last season was so close to joining AC Milan. He came through our ranks, we had him with us in the first post-Treble season (2010-11), sold him to Parma after some less than impressive displays where he did very well and is now back with us. Most importantly, I hope he is in good health after his health scare and then I hope he can cope with the pressure of playing for Inter. He will certainly be useful to Mancini's plans to play with wingers. I would have kept Samuele Longo so I am disappointed to see him go.
On potential signings, there has been a lot of talk all summer on the chase for Ivan Perisic. If he fails to arrive, I wouldn't mind signing Dries Mertens and no-one else really. No way can I see Diego Perotti as a player worthy of Inter. There's talk of signing Thiago Motta and it would be nice to have him back to bolster the midfield after the imminent sale of Kovacic and also a left back. Between Fabio Coentrao and Domenico Criscito, I'd rather see us sign Criscito as he is an Italian and its very unlikely Coentrao would sign for Inter. In a nutshell, just for the sake of selling players to reduce debts and squad size, I wouldn't mind selling Vidic, Nagatomo, Guarin, Hernanes, Taider, Schelotto, Icardi (maybe Juan Jesus too) and return Dodo to Roma. I would have kept Benassi, Longo and Kovacic at the club. We would then need to sign a striker (how about Berardi or Immobile if we had "sold" Icardi earlier), Criscito and Perisic or Mertens. In case you are wondering why I have not mentioned goalkeepers, it's because even Inter are not that crazy to sell Samir Handanovic after the seasons that he has had. There was a threat of that happening when he hadn't extended his contract and if he did leave, I believe we have a good replacement ready in Francesco Bardi (only if the club keeps its eyes open to Italian players).
The results in pre-season have been far from impressive. I have watched some matches in pre-season and we have not played as badly as the results suggest. What has been telling has been the lack of sharpness in attack. We have been toothless. I know results in pre-season don't guarantee you a great season and I hope we have a better season than the last one and the one we are suggesting to have so far. The best things in this pre-season has been our new kits.
Since the Treble and Jose Mourinho, Inter has changed 7 managers in 5 years! That is certainly not a recipe for success. The club has lacked stability at all levels. The sale of the club to Erick Thohir has contributed to the instability experienced at the club. As fans, we are aware of the need to sell before signing. It doesn't help if we keep missing out on qualifying to the Champions League. We don't have a stadium of our own like Juventus. It takes patience and careful planning if Inter are to return to glory days again but I seriously doubt we will ever see that. The longer we go without winning anything, the more twitchy the club will get. We have seen it before in the past and I wouldn't be surprised if it repeats now and lessons from the past are not learnt. Fingers crossed for a better than expected season. Inter is really Amala Inter!
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