Gudmundsson a Great Fit for Inter but the Doubts Abound

4 weeks ago 11

Despite already securing the arrival of Mehdi Taremi on a free transfer, Inter have reportedly laid eyes on Albert Gudmundsson and Giacomo Raspadori to further bolster their frontline. Their starters, Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram aren’t going anywhere. However, the negotiation to renew the contract of the former has taken perhaps longer than they anticipated, and the latter has a very high release clause.

A Much Needed Addition

The backup strikers have been one of their few sore sports this campaign. Alexis Sanchez has fared a little better than Marko Arnautovic. Still, he’s more likely to leave since he signed just a one-year contract last summer. Instead, they’d have to find a buyer for the Austrian. He has been a big disappointment considering what he had done at Bologna.

Taremi will help, although his present season hasn’t been as stellar as previous ones, and he’s not getting any younger either. He’s a hybrid between their current deputies. He’s more agile and mobile than Arnautovic and way more of a no.9 than Sanchez. Mixing and matching the offensive pair won’t be a problem for Simone Inzaghi next season.

On the other hand, the Nerazzurri could really use a spark plug off the bench. They almost never had it this year. The two backup forwards have bagged just two goals while beginning as subs, one fairly meaningless against Salernitana, and the other crucial in the first leg against Atletico Madrid. Sanchez technically should have the skillset for that, but it never really happened. If their star duo wasn’t on point, the scoring had to arrive from other positions.

The Likelihood of the Deal

At the bare minimum, Raspadori and Gudmundsson would provide just that for Inter. The Genoa star is a way more believable target unless Aurelio De Laurentiis decides to go scorched-earth and sell everybody who hasn’t been fully convincing. They paid a pretty penny for the Italian, who’s been fine but didn’t manage to become a starter or indispensable. He’d probably need a schematic change for that to happen. It’s hard to imagine Napoli doing them a rival any favor on the formula.

Instead, the Rossoblù will likely be willing to play ball in the summer, unlike they did in January when Fiorentina came asking for the Icelandic speed demon. According to Fabrizio Romano, he has a €25/30M price tag, and his team is open to getting some players in return. La Beneamata has no shortage of talents to send out.

It’s also the right time for the Grifone to cash in. The playmaker isn’t a youngster, and his valuation is probably at its peak. It arguably already dipped a little, as his second half of the season wasn’t as brilliant as the first.

It’ll be more complicated for Inter to beat the competition for Gudmundsson than to find a way to concoct the deal with the sellers. The main threat could be the promise of a starring role, which he wouldn’t have in Milan, in teams of comparable caliber. There aren’t many of those around. Their gravitational pull was in full effect and netted them Davide Frattesi last summer despite a busy fray.

The Potential Issues

If they zero in on him, they’ll probably be successful. The question is whether that’ll happen and if it’d be the best way to use their limited budget. If the reports are true, it might even be zilch unless somebody departs. That might still not stop them. There’s a reason multi-year loans with obligations to buy have been invented and are so frequent. However, it’s not only a matter of money.

Taremi and Arnautovic are no slouches. Adding a worthy player who would deserve minutes to the mix might create malcontent for lack of game time quickly, considering their two starters are workhorses. They’ll probably have to somehow offload Arnautovic, and recouping what they paid for him would be a masterclass, to start thinking about bringing in another quality attacker.

Gudmundsson is electrifying on his day and would inject a precious dose of creativity into the Inter squad. Throwing him at tired opponents would be almost unfair. In addition, he would allow them to tweak their scheme to a 3-4-1-2 in situations when they really need to score. But he wouldn’t come cheap and would be more for a luxury than a necessity. Another center-back and potentially a wingback, depending on what happens with Denzel Dumfries, are higher on the agenda, and cash is tight. At least a couple of pieces need to fall in the right place for the idea to turn into something more.

The Readymade Alternative to Inter Signing Gudmundsson

In addition, the Nerazzurri already have a player with fairly similar traits, Valentin Carboni, who’s just getting started. Considering his age and that he has been fine but not supernova at Monza, it wouldn’t be scandalous if he began as the fourth/fifth option in a title-winning squad. He’d be less cumbersome than a pricey newcomer. That may negatively affect his growth, as regular minutes always help, but the next season will have an absurd amount of matches. Inzaghi is always proficient in using the subs. He’d mesh well with the characteristics of their other strikers. The big bonus is that the solution would be gratis.