
Inter Pick Up the Pieces After Rift, Eye Atalanta Star
Inter want a lofty sum to sell Hakan Calhanoglu, but their management is coming to the realization that his departure might be inevitable. They are switching their efforts from trying to reel him in to getting as much as possible, La Gazzetta dello Sport reports.
Pocketing €35/40M for his sale would help them sign a proper replacement. In the meantime, Christian Chivu held a meeting with the players before the vacation to clear the air after the skirmish from afar between Lautaro Martinez and the Turk. For instance, Marcus Thuram liked the latter’s incendiary Instagram post. The impromptu summit was considered productive by the brass.
The Inter hierarchy’s favorite target to substitute for Calhanoglu would be Ederson. They’d have to rebuild their budget to get there. They have spent nearly €70M for Petar Sucic, Luis Henrique, and Ange-Yoan Bonny already. The Brazilian is worth €45/50M, if not more.
The Nerazzurri can cash in on some fringe players, like Aleksander Stankovic or Sebastiano Esposito. Atletico Madrid and other foreign teams are keen on Davide Frattesi. They inquired about Nicolò Rovella, but they’d have to pay his €50M release clause to lure him away from Lazio. They are evaluating Stuttgart’s Angelo Stiller, who’s wanted by Bayern Munich too.
Our Take on Inter and Calhanoglu
Their request is a pipe dream, but they could perhaps get €20/25M if other teams join Galatasaray in the race. If he does exit, they’ll have to decide whether to keep leaning on a ‘regista’ and a three-man midfield in general, or make a small tweak, using perhaps a no.10. It wouldn’t be easy because they have multiple natural box-to-boxes, including Sucic. Ederson is terrific but is too different.