Three Swaps that Would Make Some Sense but Won’t Happen

It seemed to be the summer of trades after a strong start with the Douglas Luiz one, but there haven’t been many afterward. That’s more within the realm of normalcy, as they have a lot of moving parts. It’s already hard enough to agree to the valuation, wages, and whatnot for one player. Still, a few potential ones would address the respective teams’ needs and also solve thorny cases. Let’s not dwell on the cash compensation and for what team, which would be present in each proposal. Such a debate would take forever.

Denzel Dumfries for Federico Chiesa

Their contracts are up in 2025. Inter seem confident about an extension since there’s little momentum about a sale and they haven’t been linked to any replacement lately. Instead, the Bianconeri have clearly put their attacker up for sale. The champions have shown some interest ahead of 2025.

Still, they could use a pacey attacker right away. They are probably the only ones in Italy for whom his salary wouldn’t be an issue. They are so aggressive and dominant that he could even play as a wingback in some matches on top of bringing something different to the table compared to their current strikers.

The Old Lady is back to square one in the back after missing out on Jean-Clair Todibo. Thiago Motta hasn’t been in a rush to move Andrea Cambiaso to the right permanently and has deployed Juan Cabal mostly as a center-back. The combination of factors leaves the door open to add a fullback and move Danilo to the middle, which should be the case at this stage of his career. Despite the Dutchman’s offensive skillset, he has always fared well in a four-man line with his national team.

Tammy Abraham for Noah Okafor and Luka Jovic

Milan could use a better deputy striker, especially if he were different from Alvaro Morata, and he could partner with him occasionally. The former Chelsea man is such a distressed asset that bringing him in for cheap could be worth a shot. Paulo Fonseca helped him flourish in the not-so-distant past.

Conversely, Roma would have to plug the hole but wouldn’t need much. Artem Dovbyk is elite and durable; plus, they have the option of using Paulo Dybala as a false-nine now. The Serb has been just fine as a backup, but the Rossoneri might want something a little more than that.

The Swiss youngster is exactly the type of player the capital club should target: a speedster who has both upside and experience but isn’t necessarily a world-beater. In the end, the easiest solution to their tactical conundrum is using Lorenzo Pellegrini as a pseudo-winger in a 4-2-3-1 with Dybala and Matias Soulé also supporting the Ukrainian marksman. The newcomer wouldn’t have to pout if he sometimes had to ride the pine. He’d play a lot more than at San Siro, where he’s behind Rafael Leao, since both La Joya and their captain are injury-prone and need to be managed.

Wojciech Szczesny and Weston McKennie for Giacomo Raspadori

Napoli’s reservations about Alex Meret have resurfaced. However, unless Victor Osimhen leaves very soon, they probably don’t have the budget to sign a high-end goalkeeper. They should just trust Elia Caprile and see whether he makes one further leap in a stronger team, but that’s not either here or there. Antonio Conte has taken over their transfer market strategies, and they are going with sure things in key roles.

The Pole has been shown the door but was still reliable last season. He’d be a band-aid for a year or two until their youngster is ready or, alternatively, they have fewer holes to address and more to spend in future windows. They are in the market for multiple midfielders. The USMNT staple is coming off one of his best seasons despite what has happened this summer. He just needs to be properly motivated to show well, and they have the right coach to make sure of that. Plus, he’d be a rotational piece rather than a linchpin, which is more of his dimension in a big team. He should arguably go to Fiorentina in the Nico Gonzalez deal given their gaping holes in his role. However, his demands, €4M per year according to Alfredo Pedullà, complicate his transfer to smaller sides who are very careful about their payroll and the locker room’s dynamics.

The Italian attacker would handle three roles at Juventus: Kenan Yildiz’ deputy, where they shouldn’t sign somebody too established that would overshadow their prodigy, an aggressive no.10 when they need to score, and serve as an extra deputy for Dusan Vlahovic since Arkadiusz Milik’s future is uncertain. He won’t play much if Napoli do what they have in mind up front and would be a much better fit in Motta’s system in general.

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