Thu-La has 17 goals between the Champions League and the championship: the attacks of PSG and City, led by Mbappé and Haaland, have 18. And now the value of the two Nerazzurri players is rising
– MILAN
Us, them and Inter. And gold, with the apostrophe, because those two make a dream couple. Lautaro and Thuram fly and are as good as the big names in Europe. Close to Haaland, Mbappé, Kane and Griezmann are the Inter forwards: 17 goals scored in 13 official matches, not even all played as starters, the fifth most prolific pair among the top clubs. And it is clear why today Inter are at the top of Serie A and with one foot already in the round of 16 of the Champions League. Here it is, the Nerazzurri masterpiece from every point of view. Here is the engine of a car that is practically perfect today, in terms of balance and results, the strong point in the race for the championship.
FEELING IN TWO AND A HALF MONTHS
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Lautaro and Thuram are a pure couple. One might almost say it’s from another era, given that today in Europe among the big teams, in addition to Inter, only Real Madrid (albeit in an atypical way) and Atletico play with double strikers. As a criterion, for all the other top clubs we chose the starting center forward and next to him the other offensive player with the highest number of goals. In the lead are Kane and Sané of Bayern, then Haaland and Alvarez of Manchester City. But ThuLa stands out, definitely the best in Italy. And it’s a kind of sporting miracle, because it’s a newly born couple. Two and a half months of matches, of feeling built day after day, of connections established in Appiano and replicated at San Siro or away. The two look for each other and find each other. On the pitch they often exchange positions, but almost never tasks. Because Thuram is the one responsible for linking the game with the midfield the most. Lautaro observes and collects. And he also applauds, as in the celebration after the goal against Roma.
WHAT A HIT: THEY’RE WORTH 200 MILLION
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Lautaro and Thuram are the ideal example of the concept of capitalization applied to football, if one also wanted to delve into the economic aspect. That is, a footballer – the first – who arrived in 2018 from Racing for 25 million euros including bonuses. Today, if it ended up on the market, Toro would be worth six times as much: 150 million is the amount Inter would ask for. But the Argentine will not finish on the market, because enough has already been written about the mutual desire to extend the contract expiring in 2026: the dialogues have already started, with a view to adjustment and extension. On Thuram, then, we are at the limits of a masterpiece. That is, an attacker bought at no cost and who in two and a half months of the season has already set his value at 70 million euros. Thanks to sporting director Piero Ausilio, who has marked him in the last two years as not even the best defender can do today. Of the CEO Beppe Marotta, who gave the final decisive push to overtake Milan in the summer. By Simone Inzaghi, who enhanced him on the pitch, in his tasks and movements. But perhaps the greatest credit goes to the Frenchman himself, the stubbornness and speed with which he managed to establish himself, the way in which he presented himself in the summer. And also, a detail that he helped, of an Italian language that he knows well. The dialogues in Appiano are quick and effective. This is how Thuram and Lautaro understand each other. And they also look for each other in the matches at the sports center: the desire to be together, the desire to write a piece of Nerazzurri history together.
BEST START FOR BOTH
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Inter can therefore only rely on the two of them. In the heart of Inter and in the heart of Milan, moreover: Lautaro lives in the center, Thuram is still staying in a luxury hotel well inside the city, waiting to find permanent accommodation. On the pitch, however, he found his place immediately. And with him, Inter’s way of playing has changed. Because Inzaghi has found a player capable of extending the team on the counter-attack, when necessary, but also one who is good at assisting and communicating with the midfielders. The 17 goals are the perfect snapshot of their performance. Lautaro is the best start of his career from a scoring point of view. Thuram scores with a frequency never seen before: a goal every 177 minutes with Inter, compared to 208′ between one goal and another with Borussia Moenchengladbach and even 298′ with Guingamp. The Frenchman today gives the impression of not knowing his limits. Better yet, even those who work with him don’t know them, read Inzaghi’s technical staff. And this, above all else, is the best possible news. Inter wants to win and amaze. And he is doing it with two strikers born under the same star: August 1997, they already agreed then
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