The Transfer Rumors Begin — Analyzing the Top Prospects

Could Di Maria be headed to the Serie A? It looks likely for the Argentinian. Image: Getty

The transfer rumors have begun, and they’ve been nothing short of exhilarating. We will examine the top prospects and the viability of the deal going through.

Milan, Modric, Morata?

Milan have been incredibly active in these first few weeks, Fassone and Mirabelli working hard to secure players for the new Chinese ownership. And it looks as though they’ve been successful. They’ve been linked with about every player in the world, Musacchio, Kessie, and Ricardo Rodriguez looking as though they are just about Milan players. While these are certainly high-quality players, Milan have been linked with some world-class players as well, Morata, Modric, and Aubameyang to name a few. We’ll take a look at the two Madrid players.

Modric isn’t really a concrete rumor, simply some speculation based on the fact that the midfielder was a Rossoneri fan as a child and some likes on social media posts by Milan. Of course, these mean nothing as we saw with Ibrahimovic last year, but Modric would be a great signing for Milan, possibly filling that spot they’ve been missing since the departure of Pirlo, a regista sort of player, one who can create chances out of thin air with pinpoint passing and incredible vision.

Morata is significantly more likely — in fact, the Spaniard has been rumored to have agreed on a contract with the Rossoneri. All that’s left is to negotiate with Real Madrid. That will have to be done following the Champions League final, and there’s no doubt Fassone and Mirabelli will try to get the deal done as soon as possible. Replacing Bacca, who has been lacklustre as of late, has become a key issue for the new owners, and Morata, although he is a former Bianconero, could solve their scoring woes. If that deal were to fall through, Milan would most likely focus on Andrea Belotti or Prince-Emerick Aubameyang instead.

Battle For Di Maria?

The battle for Di Maria is on as Juventus and Inter fight for the Argentinian’s signature. Inter seem to be out in front, offering €50 million for the player, and while it certainly wouldn’t be a bad signing, Inter doesn’t exactly have the greatest track record with these big-name signings, and it would be interesting to see how the winger would fare with the Nerazzuri. Of course, it’s not like Juventus really need Di Maria, already acquiring the services of Cuadrado permanently, and they could set their sights on a player like Berardi instead.

Di Maria is a great player, but he won’t single-handedly fix Inter’s problems. There’s just too much instability with Inter. They can’t settle on a coach, and their signings are just not performing for them. There has been a proposed solution to this, however. Antonio Conte. Sure, he did just win the Premier League title with Chelsea, so he won’t exactly be quick to leave the Blues, but the Italian does enjoy the Serie A, and he could be just the manager Inter have been looking for all these years.

Domestic Transfers

While all these players so far have been from outside the Serie A, there have been plenty of rumors concerning two Italian sides — Keita, Biglia, Manolas, Belotti, Kessie, and Papu Gomez to name a few. Of course, it’s still uncertain how many of these transfers will actually go through, but it’s shaping up to be quite an interesting beginning of the summer.

Keita’s future still hangs in the air, but it seems like he will go to Juventus rather than Milan. He would be a great help for Juventus, playing on that left side, replacing Mandzukic and Pjaca, both of whom have been relatively quiet thus far.

Kessie, Gomez, and Conti, three Atalanta players, have all been linked to Milan, and while the Rossoneri probably won’t get all three, they could end up with two. Kessie is practically a done deal, and they have heavy interest in Conti, a fullback whose offensive capabilities and football intellect have been showcased to the world this Serie A season.

Similar to city rivals Milan, Inter have also focused their sights on a particular team, Roma in this case. It seems as though Inter have acquired the services of Manolas already, but they also seem to be interested in Nainggolan and Rudiger as well. Rudiger is the lesser-known player, a solid defender who could pair up well with his current partner, Manolas. Nainggolan, on the other hand, is a much bigger target. The Belgian midfielder is one of the best in the world, and if Inter could be fortunate enough to land him, it would be a huge improvement to their side.

At the end of the day, these are just rumors. When the money exchanges hands and the players sign the contracts, we’ll know for sure, but for now, we can just speculate. Based on these speculations though, it seems like we have a pretty exciting transfer window on our hands, to say the least.