In the transfer market, there is still no new news. However, there are two contract renewal negotiations that are close to being officially announced. First, Dumfries has agreed to accept the renewal conditions of 4 million euros+ bonus proposed by Inter, and the two sides will renew the contract until June 2028, so that there should be no new signings on the right side of the team; Second, coach Inzaghi Jr. has agreed to renew his contract until 2026 for 6 years (with a one-year renewal option), with an annual salary of 6.5 million euros, tied with Conte as the highest-paid coach in Serie A.
In addition, if he can lead Inter Milan to defend the Serie A title, he will also activate the championship bonus clause of 2 million euros in the contract, which can be said to be a renewal contract with both basic salary and bonus terms, which is enough to prove the team's recognition of Inzaghi Jr.
Of course, this is the same as the visa-free Zelinsky, Taremi and the renewal of Lautaro and Barrera, all of which are projects that have been basically completed or have made great progress in the Suning era, and the current work is just in the final stage. Therefore, with the goal of maintaining the stability of the team's lineup and strategy, Oaktree Capital did not get too involved in influencing these projects, but originally shortened Inzaghi Jr.'s contract extension until June 2027 (with a one-year extension option), and that's it. However, these ongoing projects can be handled using the same strategy, but new projects are not possible.
What is a new project, it is the introduction of this summer window! As we said yesterday, Marotta and Osilio want to follow the original Suning era operating ideas, and the 29-year-old central defender Hermoso has good signing ability, experience and the right age, but it does not conform to Oaktree Capital's new business principles: not to provide high-salary contracts for elderly players. Therefore, there is no possibility of any progress in this transaction.
According to Inter Milan reporter Biasin, the team's president Marotta had a conversation with the management of Oaktree Capital, mainly to exchange Hermoso's possible recruitment operations and book problems, but Oaktree Capital still adheres to the principle of further reducing the average age of the team and will not provide Hermoso with a high-salary contract.
It can be seen that Marotta is still trying to communicate with Oak to run in the ideas of both sides, perhaps not only for Hermoso's recruitment, but also for the sale or introduction of players that may be involved in the next two months, to ensure that the two sides can resonate at the same frequency and in the same direction!
However, just when fans were expecting Inter to really make steady progress in line with the youthful goals proposed by Oaktree Capital, today there is a new target, and it is not a young high-potential player like Bjorn, Kiwior, and Danso, but a veteran Ricardo Rodriguez. The 32-year-old made his debut in Zurich, Switzerland, made a name for himself in Wolfsburg and moved to AC Milan for €15 million in the 2017/18 season. During his two-and-a-half-season at Milan, Rodriguez played as a left-wing-back, scoring four goals and providing five assists in 93 appearances, before leaving for Torino due to quality issues.
After coming to Turin, Rodriguez gradually changed from the left wing-back position of the back four to the left center-back of the three-center-back system due to the decline in athleticism, so in Turin in 4 seasons 129 games only 1 goal and 3 assists were recorded, including the current Swiss national team is also the main left center-back.
Rodriguez played 35 Serie A games for Torino last season, abetting 20 key passes in addition to one goal and two assists, averaging 1.29 tackles, 0.69 interceptions and 1.66 clearances per game. In addition, Rodriguez, who is a full-back, has excellent technique, delicate footwork, good passing vision, and is good at delivering threatening crosses and through balls. After changing to the central defender position, the weakness of its slow speed was covered, but the advantages of good defensive positioning and solid and stable defensive skills were magnified. Therefore, the left-footed Rodriguez is very suitable for the reinforcement of Inter's left central defender position.
But at this time, some fans questioned, didn't Oaktree Capital say that the average age of the team should be lowered and the squad should be younger? And if you don't even want 29-year-old Hermoso, how can you want 32-year-old Rodriguez? If they think so, they only see the surface of things and ignore the deeper influencing factor: cost! Perhaps, it was this factor that led management to agree with Oaktree Capital.
The 29-year-old Hermoso wants at least a three-year contract with an annual salary of more than 5 million euros, and if you add the signing fee and money, the overall cost is close to 40 million euros. Rodriguez, on the other hand, only needs a one-year contract with a salary cost of 3 million euros to sign, and the signing fee and commission are basically negligible, and the cost difference between them is at least ten times!
Moreover, Inter's position is only a temporary fill-in, mainly to deal with Buchanan's four-month injury recovery period, rather than a long-term reinforcement plan, so this short-term, low-cost treatment plan is more acceptable.
Therefore, although Oaktree Capital wants to pursue rejuvenation, in the case of limited funds, it still takes the optimal cost as the investment direction, strives to solve the problem with the lowest price, and ensures the highest cost performance! However, at present, it seems that the reinforcement of the Inter backline will not come to an end for a while and a half, and let's see what wonderful scenes there are behind!
The latest news, according to the official website of Serie A, Genoa goalkeeper Martinez's transfer to Inter Milan has been completed, with a transfer fee of 13.5 million euros + bonuses.
This is strictly speaking, Inter Milan's first new signing in the era of Oak Capital, and perhaps some of Oak's recruitment requirements can be seen from him: young, low-cost, and resale-worthy. But in the end, whether it can be fulfilled or not needs to be tested by the competition! Taremi, meanwhile, is also in Milan today, where he will sign with Inter Milan after attending the final part of his medical examination. It is expected that the two will be officially announced at the same time!
Italian legend Fabio Capello commented on Inter in an interview: Inter has changed owners, but because the guarantor is called Marotta, the team will not be affected much, I like the Oak strategy, they ensure the strength of the team and financial continuity. Inter Milan are almost done with their summer transfer work, and it can be said that they are the only big team to have achieved their set goal on July 9, which means that they have started to prepare systematically at the earliest!
At present, Inter Milan is technically short of a substitute for a left centre-back or left wing-back, and the other positions are all standard full-strength: six midfielders, four forwards, three goalkeepers, two draggers and four on the right. Therefore, Inter's two sets of lineups for the new season have been basically settled, so there is Capello's conclusion that the Nerazzurri will start systematic preparation at the earliest, and the stability of the coach and most of the main lineup is also the biggest weapon of Inter Milan in the new season!