The transfer market window had an impressive coda considering the names involved, Victor Osimhen, Mats Hummels, and Mario Hermoso, but it has finally come to a close. Therefore, it’s time to revisit some of the topics that livened the summer, lasting an excessively long amount of time and not necessarily for good reasons.
Juventus Manifesting Their Signings
The Bianconeri had a strong start, addressing their midfielder with Khephren Thuram and Douglas Luiz, acting swiftly due to the competition for the former and because Aston Villa needed to sell the latter by the end of June. Afterward, they spent almost the entire window tracking Teun Koopmeiners and seeking a top defender but came up empty-ended for Riccardo Calafiori and Jean-Clair Todibo despite all their optimistic leaks, supposed meetings, and offers.
In the end, the solution came out of the blue, Pierre Kalulu, and their early showings indicate they didn’t necessarily need an elite man to be airtight. Their long negotiation for the Dutch maestro and Nico Gonzalez didn’t lead to any discount despite the formula used for the Argentine. They’ll shell out nearly €100M for the duo. Atalanta and Fiorentina had to come to grips with those departures, but the agreements could have come sooner if the initial offers were higher, and they evidently had the dough to do that, giving Thiago Motta more time to work with the newcomers.
Milan Sort of Penny Pinching
The Rossoneri stayed true to their word and didn’t cash in on any regular. The other side of the coin is that they had to negotiate hard to fit all their new signings into their budget, which wasn’t exactly lavish given their ownership and ambitions. Time will tell whether they invested in the right guys. Some of the choices were questionable or lacked courage and inventiveness in the first place. Despite the lengthy talks, their only sort of bargain was Alvaro Morata, provided he kept up his Atleti numbers, while they had to pay almost full price for their other additions.
Dybala and Saudi Arabia
Did La Joya really want to depart because of the massive wages he was offered, or did Roma push him out because his salary is and will be too high, and the Middle Eastern league was the only possible solution? Probably a little bit of both. The petrodollars weren’t the boon and the solution a few teams were hoping for last summer. The incoming proposals were a lot more tempting salary-wise than in terms of fees. Surely, a sale for a meager sum would have been a disgrace and very tough to explain for the team.
The Giallorossi didn’t manage to control the narrative, as it was billed almost exclusively as the player’s refusal when they hadn’t agreed either. They washed away some of the dregs and bitterness with their ensuing moves. It’ll now be up to Daniele De Rossi to find a way to make him and Matias Soulé co-exist tactically. The mask would come off if there’s some shady load management that could impact his renewal, which is triggered by an appearance-related clause.
Inter Searching for a Left-Footed Defender
The Nerazzurri would have sat on their laurels after winning the title, the ownership change, and snapping up two proven contributors on free transfers. Instead, Tajon Buchanan suffering a late lower leg injury changed their plans. They should have nabbed one extra man in the back regardless, but that’s neither here nor there at this point. They landed a promising talent, Tomas Palacios. Considering how little they spent, most of their other targets were simply hot air. Plus, they didn’t even include him in their Champions League because the Canadian wingback is coming back sooner than expected, La Gazzetta dello Sport relays.
The Victor Osimhen Ordeal
After trading barbs for the whole summer, Napoli and his camp came up with a reasonable solution that didn’t solve the problem once and for all but at least spared everybody the embarrassment of the highest-paid player in the squad staying at home because he no longer wants to be part of the project. Couldn’t it have happened a lot sooner?
It’s great news for Galatasaray, but surely some other European teams would have pounced on the opportunity to bring him in on an initial loan, even without an option to buy, just to see how he fares with them. It would have probably helped his future valuation and permanent transfer too. They pinned it all on the striker and a previous promise. However, considering they changed their whole technical area, it was weird and disappointing that they didn’t even try to mend fences once it was becoming apparent that he wouldn’t have joined a Champions League participant or a Saudi side, as the offer was too low, and the Azzurri had every right to turn it down. The circumstances were a lot different than what the parties envisioned before the summer. Nobody have blamed them if they just changed their mind. In the end, it was clear that the team didn’t want to hold onto him either because earns too much, and the extension was just a subterfuge and a one-off to delay the inevitable. It’s a pity because it would have been very interesting to see him under Antonio Conte.
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