Dumfries insufficient in Inter-Juve. And the transfer market is crying

Inter-Lecce was played at the beginning of the month and signs of redemption had been glimpsed for Denzel Dumfries. Giuseppe Meazza’s ruthless boos had in fact been interrupted by an uplifting scene: Lautaro Martinez scoring and then intent on embracing the Dutch full-back, author of the assist. In addition, the gesture of a true captain: a look at the public with a request to applaud a player immersed in the quicksand of unconvincing performances. Then the double face of the match against Spezia and the obvious difficulties in the Italian derby.

Peak

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Between the trip to Liguria and the match against Juventus, there was a further deterioration. Because if against Leonardo Semplici’s bianconeri Dumfries had indeed caused the decisive penalty – but shortly before he had earned another -, against those of Massimiliano Allegri there is nothing to put in the balance. Worst inter player tied for negative passes and duels suffered, but above all the widespread feeling of indecision (his about him) and distrust (of his teammates towards him). One of those cursed evenings where nothing goes right. Was it a unique, we would only have to move on: the real problem, however, is that similar scenes have already been seen in this damned 2023 and by now the excuse of the World Cup in Qatar no longer holds up. The fact that Dumfries has returned to Italy out of shape and exhausted is evident, but the championship has resumed for two and a half months and only with the Cremonese has Denzel managed to snatch a 6.5 in his report card.

The treasure that is not there

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If Matteo Darmian is now the owner of the right wing on the pitch net of injuries, at management level this involution can only arouse a minimum of concern. Because a couple of months ago Dumfries was right at the top of the possible expendables before 30 June to hit the market surplus requested by Steven Zhang last summer. And Inter’s valuation was around 50-60 million euros: a lot if you think of Serie A, all in all understandable if the attention comes from the Premier League where similar expenses are the order of the day. Now, however, thinking of such a figure is objectively utopian: we have to stop roughly at 20-25 and no more, because the sad continuity of subdued performances plays against Inter. Of course, there is still time to reverse the trend and once again tickle the desire for new faces in the English championship, but at the moment there is a real risk of no longer being able to get close to really convenient figures for the viale della Liberazione club. Finding the best Dumfries is an urgency. For Simone Inzaghi and for Giuseppe Marotta, who otherwise will be forced to come up with a new solution.