Inter market, new scenario opens up after Super Cup knockout
The defeat in the Italian Super Cup on penalties against Bologna has not only excluded Inter from the race for the first trophy of the season, but has also accelerated reflections in the Nerazzurri household in view of the January market, opening new scenarios. The Nerazzurri management, already working for weeks to reinforce the squad available to Cristian Chivu, is now at a crossroads: intervene immediately to fill some structural gaps or wait until the summer for a broader revolution. What happened in Riyadh, however, seems to push toward the first option, with reasoning that concerns both the incoming and outgoing markets.
The most urgent case concerns precisely the exits and in particular the situation of Stefan de Vrij. The Dutch central player, in the Nerazzurri since 2018, has very often seen his teammates from the bench and his performance as a starter in the match against Bologna in the Super Cup was not particularly convincing, not so much because of the individual performance but because of the imperfect understanding with Bisseck and Bastoni. De Vrij, who is also eyeing a call-up by the Dutch national team for the 2026 World Cup, has already instructed his agents to sound out the market for a possible immediate exit. There is no shortage of requests, especially from abroad: prominent among them is Simone Inzaghi’s Al-Hilal, who would gladly welcome him back to Saudi Arabia.
L’Inter would not oppose the transfer, but only on one condition: to have a replacement immediately, also because the defensive department is destined to change profoundly in the coming months. Indeed, in perspective, they are looking at the situation of Francesco Acerbi, 38 years old in February and struggling with continuous physical problems that are affecting his season. Marotta and Ausilio are accelerating on two names: Marcos Senesi, who is expiring with Bournemouth and has been monitored for some time, and Oumar Solet, a revelation of Udinese and considered ready for a big one. The Frenchman, who grew up between Lyon and Strasbourg before exploding in Austria, is one of Chivu’s most prized profiles.
On the goalkeeper front, on the other hand, reasoning is already under way for the summer. Yann Sommer is expiring and unlikely to stay, the hottest name is that of Guglielmo Vicario, now at Tottenham but not considered incedible by Spurs. The valuation is high, around 30 million, but Inter is watching carefully, ready to move should the player push to return to Italy. The situation related to the right flank also calls for reflection: the injury to Denzel Dumfries, who underwent ankle surgery, has left Chivu with only Luis Henrique, which is why the Nerazzurri are anticipating a move initially planned for June: Brooke Norton-Cuffy, an English outside player from Genoa, class of 2004, valued at about 20 million. Inter, on this front, must, however, watch out for competition from Juventus and Napoli.
The picture, in short, is in full swing. This was confirmed by Beppe Marotta himself before the Super Cup semifinal, at the microphones of Sport Mediaset: “I do not exclude anything, but the rose meets the needs of the coach– he said -. With Ausilio and Baccin we will evaluate what to do”. Words that open the door to a more active January market than expected.
