Inter, Cuadrado on the way | Gazzetta.it

More than crazy Inter, it’s a crazy transfer market. With a surprise blitz, last night the CEO Beppe Marotta and sporting director Piero Ausilio have reached an agreement for the arrival of Juan Cuadrado, a winger who left Juve on a free transfer after eight seasons. A blow that also stunned the fans of the two teams, who welcomed the Colombian’s move to Inter on social media with irony and coldness. It was the last twist of a weekend that will be remembered for a long time in Nerazzurri Milan: first the great betrayal of Romelu Lukaku, discovered flirting with Juve in the middle of a complex negotiation that Inter had been carrying on for months with Chelsea to get his redemption. Then, on what seemed like a quiet summer Sunday, Cuadrado came out on the road to Appiano Gentile. The coincidence is incredible, thinking back to what happened three months ago in Turin, in the first leg of the semi-final of the Italian Cup, when Cuadrado had Lukaku sent off after his exultation considered controversial and provocative towards the Juventus public. Cuadrado who then practically came to blows in the fiery post match with Samir Handanovic. Expulsion for both and Cuadrado’s leap forward in the list of players least loved by the Inter fans, as has been underlined in so many comments around the web.

the thrust of inzaghi

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But beyond the sympathies, what needs to be analyzed now is the technical impact of the operation. Inter were looking for a right winger who could alternate with Dumfries, after Bellanova’s failed redemption and Darmian’s “relegation” to central defence, extraordinary in the second half of last season in his new role. And Inzaghi has always had great admiration for the Colombian, considered the ideal player to enhance the 3-5-2 formation of the Piacenza coach. Cuadrado will sign for a year for 2.5 million net and in the next few days he will be in Milan to join his new teammates. He will not find Handanovic or Lukaku, nor Perisic, with whom he had quarreled in the year of the Nerazzurri Scudetto (2021), over a penalty he won that had driven the Croatian and all the Inter fans crazy. In short, the Colombian will have to work hard to win the affection of the new fans, but what matters now for the management is having achieved the result: Inzaghi wanted Cuadrado and he was satisfied. And the Nerazzurri squad is enriched with an alternative on the wings.

last dance

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Cuadrado had already been linked to Inter in the past, but the rumors had never turned into a concrete negotiation. But the winger’s free agent status prompted Inter to sink the blow and satisfy Inzaghi. Cuadrado left Juve without controversy, after a contract renewal negotiation that experienced paradoxical moments. Cuadrado earned 5 million a season in Turin, Juve had offered him a new contract for 1.5 million while the player’s entourage understood that the bianconeri wanted to save 1.5 million. Once the positions were clarified, the renewal negotiations came to an abrupt halt and were no longer put on the agenda. In recent weeks, the name of Cuadrado had been compared to the many who are choosing Saudi Arabia, but the Colombian was waiting for one last chance from Europe, even better if in Italy. At 35, Juan thought he could still be important for a top team and found the right interlocutor in Inter. After all, with so many zero parameters, Inter hit the Champions League final: who knows if even this bet won’t be successful.