The Englishman from Genoa is currently the favorite of the Nerazzurri management. And a series of indications say that it can be done, despite the competition from the Premier League
The wish list is not for Santa Claus, but for the January transfer window. And Inter’s team has five names in the lead… in one: Brooke Dion Nelson Norton-Cuffy. The Genoa winger remains the favorite of the Nerazzurri management to date, who will almost necessarily have to invest in the market due to the long stoppage in Dumfries. And in terms of characteristics – technical, physical, personal – English practically represents the perfect profile. Norton-Cuffy is ahead of the bet Valincic, Touré of Pisa, Palestra of Atalanta. But watch out for the competition from the Premier League: English clubs are always very attentive to national profiles, and there are at least a couple – in addition to Napoli and Juve – that would gladly bring the former Arsenal player back across the Channel. In the meantime, however, here’s why Norton-Cuffy is Inter’s favourite.
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Last summer, the Inter transfer market brought (one re-brought) five new players to Milan: Sucic, Luis Henrique, Diouf, Bonny and Pio Esposito. Aged 21, 23, 22, 21 and 19 respectively. Very clear indication of how Oaktree operates on the market: young, futuristic hits with a guaranteed future. Someone has already demonstrated that the investment has worked, a couple still need a little more time, but the balance is already positive. So the next market direction will be the same. And in this sense Norton-Cuffy would fit perfectly into the Inter context: he is a 2004 player, he still has enormous room for growth despite this season’s boom, he already knows the Italian championship (unlike for example the Croatian Valincic) but above all he doesn’t lack the physicality that belongs to Dumfries. This is why the Englishman seems to be the ideal candidate for Inter. A futuristic profile but already ready to replace a pillar of the team like the Dutchman, which allows Denzel to recover without forcing the times and guarantee Chivu a more credible alternative compared to Luis Henrique who is struggling quite a bit in this Italian start, without it becoming necessary to experiment with adaptations such as Carlos Augusto in a role that is unnatural for him.
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Is that enough? If the answer is negative, two other questions arise for Norton-Cuffy’s candidacy. Number one, the price tag. The former Arsenal player has exploded this season, but for a figure of around 15-20 million it is clear that Genoa (after having rejected one from around a dozen) would begin to falter. Assist for Oaktree, which last year set the limit beyond which it could not go at 25. Number two, the agency of attorneys that follows him: rapper Jay-Z’s Roc Nation. Relations with Inter are excellent especially after the Lukaku deal, which followed the days of the happy Nerazzurri experience and was dumped before the Belgian’s summer push and pull after the final in Istanbul. A series of clues that risk becoming proof: Norton-Cuffy-Inter, more than an idea.
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