Contrary to my expectations the Lavezzi’s saga has ended way sooner than I expected. It seems as his transfer to PSG is almost done and our first target (or how it looked like it from the reports) is already lost. So where are we going now? The LW position which was supposed to be filled by Lavezzi remains blank and Inter has to look for the other options for that spot. But who is available?!

The hottest name is Lucas Moura who is still linked to Inter by everyday rumors. But the demands of his club and the words coming from his agent about the player’s intentions of remaining in Brazil and his huge price-tag don’t make the chance of seeing him at Inter very bright. The thing is, watching how the club has abandoned the Lavezzi deal is not only a negative point regarding the failure in landing the player but also could be a sign that the club may, once again, refuse to spend +20m for any player, which will be the repeat of the same scenario that we have witnessed in the last 2 summers. The newest names linked to Inter as the alternatives to Lavezzi are Gaston Ramirez of Bologna and Sebastian Giovinco of Parma. It’s not like that I’m gonna say these two are mediocre players or anything like that. Both are young and talented. BUT… these guys are not up to the task of making Inter the Scudetto material. To me, going for the likes of Ramirez and Giovinco is like going for the likes of Alvarez and Coutinho again. I do not see much difference that the likes of Ramirez or Giovinco could make that Alvarez or Coutinho cannot.  None of them are either natural wingers that it could make extra sense to go for them rather than allowing Alvarez and Coutinho to do the job instead (employing them on the flanks like they did on several occasions).

Among the serious options which we could consider for the LW position is Nicolas Gaitan. Although the obstacle would be his price-tag which is more or less the same as it was about Lavezzi’s. And Inter may find themselves with a strong opponent in the name of Manchester United for his signature. The chance of seeing Gaitan at Inter is slim considering how the club has failed to get their hands on, what was supposed to be their #1 target, Ezequiel Lavezzi for the same economic reasons. So not sure how could we expect the club to act differently about Nicolas Gaitan or any other players who have the same price-tags.

If Inter is about to invest it has to be for the players who either, have the quality to come and make the difference right away, or have the different characteristics than what we already have in the squad. The money is there to spend but the point is how to spend it. None of Ramirez or Giovinco are going to be cheap. They probably cost something around 15m more or less, so instead of going there again it’s better to add extra money and get someone who can make the difference on the pitch right away. Settling with the cheap options, some of them who are either close to their 30s or already there does not reflect what we have heard from Massimo Moratti and Marco Branca about investing, rebuilding and the so called project that we keep hearing about for the last 2 years. We are yet at the beginning of the transfer market, so it’s still too soon to make conclusions. But as of now, the outcome has not been very promising. Lavezzi is already lost. The fate of Destro is still unknown. There doesn’t seem to be any progression about Mauricio Isla. Lucas seems far away…

The dejavu of witnessing the same story of the past 2 years repeating itself put a heavy shadow on my hopes about seeing a successful mercato from the club, both in outcomes and incomes. Right now I am not in a very optimistic state, but I hope I’ll be surprised in the coming weeks… in a positive way!