Inter Milan boss: Pavard deal with FC Bayern one of the most difficult transfers

Inter sports director on summer deals

Piero Ausilio, sporting director of Inter Milan, spoke in detail about the transfer activities last summer in an interview with “Radio TV Serie A”. Among other things, it was about the three newcomers from the Bundesliga: Benjamin Pavard, Yann Sommer and Marcus Thuram.

Ausilio mentioned the 27-year-old Pavard when asked about the most difficult transfers of his term in office, which has lasted since 2014. “There are many. For example, it wasn’t easy to take Pavard away from Bayern because they didn’t want to give him away. In the transfers that seem the most obvious, something always happens a minute before the end,” said the 48-year-old (quoted via “Gazzetta dello Sport“), without going into further detail.

The Nerazzurri had been courting the Frenchman for almost the entire transfer phase, and the deal was only completed on August 30th – one day before the end of the transfer period. At 30 million euros, Pavard was Inter’s most expensive purchase this summer.

Inter Milan preferred summer to younger keepers – contact with Thuram since 2021

Sommer also came from FC Bayern, who left the German record champions after just six months and recently described this time as “extremely wild”. The media attention and criticism of him in particular was “sometimes unpleasant and doesn’t leave you unscathed,” he said (to the news). It quickly became clear that the Swiss favored a change and Inter took advantage of the opportunity because they were looking for a new number one after the sale of André Onana for 50.2 million euros.

“I wanted something specific and he was ready straight away. We could have focused on younger goalkeepers, but summer was exactly what we needed. He had already made sure to learn Italian during the negotiations. He’s a crazy professional,” said Ausilio, whose instinct for Sommer turned out to be right. In 13 appearances, the 34-year-old kept eight clean sheets – the best among all keepers in the top 5 leagues.

The transfer of Thuram, who came to Milan from Borussia Mönchengladbach on July 1st as one of the most valuable free transfers, was completed much earlier. The foundation for the 26-year-old to choose Inter was laid two years earlier.

After the sale of Romelu Lukaku for 113 million euros to Chelsea FC in the summer of 2021, Ausilio presented himself to Borussia and Thuram: “I had already spoken to him and his father, the negotiations progressed quickly, also thanks to Mino Raiola, which I would like to remember on this occasion. We had defined almost everything, but on the Sunday before the last meeting he injured his knee and we had to change our transfer target.” In Mönchengladbach, however, the Frenchman was already regularly in the position in the center of attack at this point (according to Thuram’s performance data).

Two years later, however, the efforts and continued contact helped to get the deal done. “These meetings were the basis. I was the first to tell Lilian that his son could become a center forward and he remembered it,” said Ausilio. In Mönchengladbach, Thuram was initially often used on the left wing; only last year did Daniel Farke regularly use him in the center. He is also part of the Nerazzurri there and has five goals and seven assists in 13 appearances this season.

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