The company continues with the line dictated precisely by Oaktree: Sommer’s contract expires next June, so the new number one must have very specific characteristics
Revolving doors? In the Inter building, it doesn’t really work like that. Sommer, Onana, Handanovic, even before that Julio Cesar, Toldo, Frey, Peruzzi. Up to Pagliuca, Zenga and Bordon. There is one starting goalkeeper, the others act as a sidekick. They are certainly used when necessary, but only when strictly necessary or for a passing of the baton between one season and another. History says it: last year the Swiss number one played 53 games against Josep Martinez’s 10, in the previous year 43 – and Audero just 6 -, after the Onana interlude and the long Handanovic hegemony, accustomed to playing around fifty games a year while the various deputies (over time: Cordaz, Radu, Padelli, Carrizo, Castellazzi, Belec) shared handfuls of appearances. The same thing happened even when the “old men” mentioned above were placed permanently between the posts. At the end of the current season, however, a variable will be added: Sommer’s contract. Which will expire on June 30th and most likely will not be renewed, unlike (always probably) that of the third goalkeeper Di Gennaro, decidedly less expensive and above all useful for a matter of lists having grown up in the Nerazzurri youth system. In essence, at least one slot in the goal will become free. And so Inter is called to dive into the market in search of a starter.
unknown
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Another variable bears the name of Josep Martinez. The Spanish goalkeeper, when employed for the Nerazzurri, always made a good impression: 10 games, 6 clean-sheets. This year he has taken to the pitch on two occasions, keeping a clean sheet once. Then, however, the off-field event that recently involved him slowed down his growth which unfortunately seemed just around the corner. Pepo’s situation on a personal level is complex and so in recent weeks he has been working more to overcome the trauma than to undermine Sommer. It is very likely that he will still be part of the Nerazzurri squad next year, but in what capacity? Sommer’s heir and therefore permanent starter or the usual 12th? It’s too early to say, although Inter is certainly monitoring possible solutions between now and next summer. Three, mainly.
candidates
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Elia Caprile, Noah Atubolu, Zion Suzuki. These, but not only, are the names that the Nerazzurri management has followed so far with particular attention. Especially the first, considered ideal due to his age (he is 24 years old), nationality (Inter always focuses heavily on the blue block) and above all readiness. Caprile had a formative experience abroad already at a very young age – Leeds -, he was a starter in Bari who came close to a sensational promotion to Serie A, he confirmed himself in a big way in his debut season in the top category with Empoli and, perhaps above all, he chose to leave Napoli in full swing towards what would later become the 4th scudetto in the club’s history to go to Cagliari to be a starter. Same: he doesn’t lack personality. The Japanese Suzuki is his age, but risks having a higher rating and above all the injury that will keep him in the pits for the next 3-4 months has sent his candidacy backwards.
Then there remains the name of Noah Atubolu, perhaps the most exotic, but no less reliable. Freiburg’s German number one of Nigerian origins impressed enough in the Bundesliga to earn Nagelsmann’s call to the national team. The German joker? A contract expiring in 2027, which prohibits monstrous evaluations by Freiburg. Establishing today the profile on which Inter will focus most decisively is complex, but the guidelines dictated by Oaktree will certainly be followed: young, ready, futuristic. And not more expensive than 25-30 million.
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