Inter on Djaló, Lille defender on a free transfer: the strategy

Lille’s Portuguese defender returns from injury and is one of the most attractive free transfers in Europe

Vincenzo D’Angelo

Quality at zero cost. It sounds like an advertising slogan, but instead it is exactly one of Inter’s secrets in recent years. Beppe Marotta and Piero Ausilio, CEO and sporting director of the Nerazzurri club, have always followed the market for free agents with great attention in search of opportunities: from Stefan de Vrij to Henrikh Mkhitaryan, passing through Onana (sold last summer after just one year at the Nerazzurri for almost 60 million euros at Manchester United) up to Marcus Thuram, one of the great revelations of this start of the season, Simone Inzaghi’s dominant Inter is made up of many players who arrived on a free transfer, who contributed to the technical growth of the Nerazzurri squad and the club’s European climb.

next goal

And even in these months of closed market, Inter managers have started working on new profiles expiring next June: safe used, guaranteed quality. The latest name is that of Tiago Djaló, a Portuguese defender playing for Lille, who is also being followed in the shadow by Milan, Juve and Barcelona: speed and power are the main characteristics of this 23-year-old 191cm tall boy, who has done understand to Lille that he is not interested in renewing his contract and is ready to make the jump to a big club next summer. As already happened with Thuram, Inter had started the first contacts with Lille already in January 2023, in the midst of the chaos of Skriniar’s renewal: the idea was to focus on Djaló in the event of the Slovakian’s sale to PSG (club where he then went, but on a free transfer). In short, the appreciation and courtship are dated, but now we need to find the right key to convince the Portuguese to land in Milan and avoid possible auctions, as happened with Thuram, who Inter had already chosen her in the summer of 2021 before the serious injury.

desire for Italy

Situations that return and repeat themselves: Djaló is also injured today, although he is close to returning to the pitch after rupturing the cruciate ligament in his right knee suffered at the beginning of March. And he too, like Marcus two years ago, is very flattered by Inter’s interest: he likes Italy and in the imagination of the defender – who has already played in the Primavera championship in 2019, with Milan – it would not be a destination in passing but a very important step forward in his career, a circle that closes after his taste of Serie A when he wore the Rossoneri. Djaló is now focused on recovery, then he will try to show off again in the eyes of the observers of Europe’s big teams. Inter will put themselves in the front row, but obviously working behind the scenes: to avoid auctions and guarantee Inzaghi a new possible top player in defense, for a department that will have to be renewed in the coming years.



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