Inter’s search for a new centre-back has proved more difficult than first anticipated, probably because their list of targets is a bit unrealistic.
The first to appear was Manchester City’s Nicolas Otamendi, which was pretty much dismissed straight away as he appears to be integral to Pep Guradiola’s plans, at least for now.
Then came the far likelier Eliaquim Mangala option, but we are yet to see that stumble over the line, probably why Inter are now looking at Arsenal’s Skhodran Mustafi.
The interest is nothing new, and has been circulating for just under a week, but what is rather impressive is the amount of hope Gazzetta dello Sport have in the Serie A side actually convincing the Gunners to sell.
In their Tuesday edition, the Italian newspaper claim that because Arsène Wenger has Per Mertesacker, Lauent Koscielny and Rob Holding at his disposal, he could be willing to talk about the German centre-back.
What they appear to have chosen to ignore is that Wenger seems to have decided to go through this season with a three at the back formation and, having already sold Gabriel Paulista to Valencia, isn’t exactly blessed with a wealth of first-team centre-backs.
This was exemplified against Leicester, fielding Nacho Monreal, Holding and Sead Kolasinac as his defensive core, as Arsenal struggle in Koscielny’s absence.
Furthermore, it’s highly unlikely the French manager would be willing to part ways with a player he spent over £35m on last summer.
Inter’s revival might well be underway with Luciano Spalletti at the helm, and they might have some good financial backing, but there’s a fine line between optimism and delusion.
Convincing Premier League clubs to part ways with their expensive defenders might take more than a year to achieve.
