“Don’t say cat if you don’t have it in the sack“. While this quote from the legendary Giovanni Trapattoni may sound like an overused cliché, the transfer market serves as a constant reminder on its validity.
Since February, we were being told that Inter had an agreement in principle for Gleison Bremer. But here’s another old saying, “words are wind”, and at the end of the day, Torino ended up selling their most prized asset to the highest bidder, even if it happened to be their most hated rivals.
Nonetheless, Giuseppe Marotta and Piero Ausilio still have more than a month to rectify their shortcoming (although the lack of funding from the owners is the main culprit in here), so let’s list some of the alternatives for the new Juventus signing, and try to decide which would be the ideal solution in this less than perfect situation.
Nikola Milenkovic
At the moment, Nikola Milenkovic appears to be the frontrunner for the role. But then again, so was Bremer.
The Serbian has been constantly growing during his time at Fiorentina, but while the Tuscans are desperate to renew his expiring contract, the player feels it’s the right time for him to embark on a new adventure.
The 25-year-old is solid, physically-imposing and leans towards the right side, which almost makes him a like-to-like replacement for PSG-bound Milan Skriniar.
Merih Demiral
Despite having his highs and lows last season, Atalanta still opted to exercise their right to buy Merih Demiral from Juventus. But perhaps the club’s idea is reselling him for an immediate profit.
On his day, the 24-year-old is an absolute beast at the back, but as Serie A fans know by now, he can be reckless and error-prone at times, which renders him a risky option.
Francesco Acerbi
After four years in the Italian capital, it appears that Francesco Acerbi’s time at Lazio is coming to an end. The Ultras made their intentions loud and clear, demanding that he leaves the club immediately, while some reports claim that his relationship with manager Maurizio Sarri is a frosty one.
Luckily for the 34-year-old, he still has admirers among the big boys despite his advanced age, and Inter might be one of them, especially after missing out on Bremer.
Milan Skriniar
This whole debacle regarding a new top center back had been prompted by Milan Skriniar’s potential exit. Now surely Andrea Ranocchia left for Monza, but the departure of the former captain won’t give the directors too many sleepless nights. But losing a stalwart like Skriniar is surely another matter.
The Nerazzurri have identified the Slovakian as the ideal sacrificial lamb in their desperate attempts to balance the books, and as it happens, PSG are in the market looking for a new defender.
Nonetheless, the two clubs are yet to reach an agreement, with Inter asking for 60 million euros or so for a player’s whose contract will expire in 2023.
But following Bremer’s turnaround, the management is now considering the idea of keeping the former Sampdoria man at Appiano Gentile.
Conclusion
For Simone Inzaghi, maintaining the status quo would probably be his preferred choice. After all, Skriniar, Stefan de Vrij and Alessandro Bastoni might be the most formidable defensive trio in Serie A.
However, the club can’t neglect its shaky financial situation, and it surely can’t afford to lose Skriniar as a free agent next summer. So unless they manage to put his signature on a new contract, the Beneamata must squeeze the biggest possible fee from his sale.
In this case, the club would resort to the market in order to find a capable replacement. As we mentioned above, Demiral makes for a risky bet, unlike Acerbi who is a reliable veteran and an old favorite of Inzaghi.
But the issue with the Euro 2020 winner is the presence of another left-footed center back in the form of Bastoni, which would force one of them to play outside of his comfort zone.
Thus, the right-footed Milenkovic would be the ideal option to replace Skriniar in the back-three, and with a price tag around 15 million euros, the Serbian could be one of the best bargains of the summer.
But this time, Inter must do better in repelling the all-too-familiar threat from Juventus, who might want to partner Bremer with the wantaway Fiorentina man.