During his latest interview, Inter director Piero Ausilio confirmed the Nerazzurri’s plans for the 2024 summer transfer window and revealed he’d take ‘five minutes’ to extend Simone Inzaghi’s contract.
Ausilio released an extended interview with Inter transfer expert Fabrizio Biasin on Wednesday. He didn’t only say that he had personally reached an agreement with Rafael Leao before his move to Milan in 2019, but also explained the Nerazzurri transfer plans for next season.
“We have to analyse the whole situation deeply. One of the secrets was to have the right amount of players so everyone had a chance to be involved,” Ausilio said as quoted by Calciomercato.com.
“It is also good for the coach because having four or five extra players is okay when they are young, not when they are established and with experience.”
There are reports that Inzaghi wants to have five strikers in 2024-25.
“I don’t know. We’ll evaluate this with the coach,” said the club director.
“We have worked well with four strikers and I don’t see why we should change. There are players who can be deployed in attack, such as Mkhitaryan. He is smarter than average and he can play as a striker if needed. We have a brilliant young coach who plays with this system, but perhaps he may change something in the future as he did with the Lazio Primavera.”
Nevertheless, Ausilio confirmed interest in Genoa star Gudmundsson.
“The only thing I can confirm is that he’s a quality player, so we like him, as do other teams, but right now, we are okay with the attack.
“Arnautovic is still under contract and the same is true of Sanchez. We may even continue with him even if his contract expires. Then we have Valentin Carboni, Sebastiano and Pio Esposito and Martin Satriano. We must evaluate these things.”
How about Carboni? Will he remain at Inter beyond the summer?
“He can already be an Inter player given his quality, but we must decide whether to bring him back here and give him less playing time than he deserves or let him gain experience elsewhere,” said Ausilio.
“We’ll evaluate this with the lad. He has a long-term contract with Inter, and we are happy with this.”
What will be the challenges for Inter in the upcoming summer transfer window?
“It’s becoming increasingly difficult to complete good sales because there aren’t many important transfers,” said Ausilio.
“It’s easier to sell to mid-table teams. Considerable investments are made for top players or promising footballers. In the middle, it’s more difficult and prices are mind-blowing.
“[The transfer window] will be like the past, but we are not scared. At the same time, it will be slightly different because we only need to make little adjustments. We don’t need to sell anyone and we’ll see which opportunities we have. Last year, there were favourable situations with Onana and Brozovic.”
Inter had an agreement in place to sign Romelu Lukaku on a permanent deal from Chelsea last summer, but the Belgian striker decided against returning to the club. What happened there?
“It was quick. The lad had sent some signals, so when we understood what was going on, we decided to end it more respectfully than described,” Ausilio claimed.
“The only thing that changed our strategies was the Dzeko decision. We would have wanted to extend for one more season and sign Thuram anyway.”
Who was Inter’s most surprising player this season?
“We were convinced about his qualities after intense work of scouting. We were convinced that his ideal role was striker and not winger, so we didn’t put pressure on him and gave him time to develop and prove his worth.”
Inter are also working to extend the contracts of Lautaro Martinez, Nicolò Barella and Simone Inzaghi.
As for Lautaro, “It’s a normal situation, like in any club, when an important player must extend,” said Ausilio.
“We need time because these contracts move something, but both sides want to continue together. We must find financial balance, but there is no rush because his contract expires in 2026. We’ve known [Barella’s agent] Beltrami for 30 years; perhaps, it may happen before Lautaro’s.
“With Inzaghi, it’s a formality; we haven’t even talked about it. We will meet at a table and sort it out in five minutes.”
Lastly, Ausilio confirmed interest in Torino‘s Alessandro Buongiorno but ruled out a possible move in the summer.
“I really like him, but we can’t sign every player and we are already settled in defence,” he concluded.