Inter giving up on Lookman?

Ademola Lookman is currently in Portugal. The Nigerian international has made a series of moves that have so badly damaged his relationship with Atalanta that it’s hard to imagine him still wearing the Goddess’ shirt next season, regardless of how the story with Inter ends. According to reports from Milan, Inter neither asked nor suggested that Lookman take such a drastic step in his dealings with the Bergamo club. It appears the Nigerian acted entirely on his own — although there’s no shortage of conspiracy theorists and the sizable group of myth-makers who portray Beppe Marotta as a Mephistopheles figure, and, consequently, as the director of the current drama between Lookman and Atalanta.

The European runners-up have not given up on Lookman, but Marotta and Piero Ausilio have begun to think about other options, especially since — despite Inter’s request for Atalanta to name their price — the Percassi family remains silent. Napoli is also worth keeping an eye on. Antonio Conte sees Lookman as the ideal replacement for Kvaratskhelia. The Azzurri’s management have already tested the waters, but the Nigerian was firm in his desire to join Inter, which is why they temporarily withdrew. The current developments bring Napoli back into play, as Inter could sign another winger or spend the money on strengthening other areas of the squad, while it’s clear that Atalanta doesn’t have many options other than selling Lookman.

Lookman sends an official transfer request

At the same time, there are more and more voices within Inter suggesting that they should think carefully about whether the attack is really the part of the team that needs reinforcing — especially since Kivu intends to play with a 3-4-2-1 formation, in which the two players behind the main striker could easily be Çalhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Frattesi, or even, if needed, Zalewski. Indeed, Boni and Pio Esposito are increasingly emerging as credible attacking options for Inter. No one questions the status of Marcus Thuram and especially captain Lautaro Martínez, but next season the quality gap between the starters and the backup attackers will not be so large. If Lookman were to arrive, it wouldn’t automatically mean Thuram would be sold, but it could open the door for such a scenario — provided a tempting offer of around 60 million euros or more arrived.

African ace in the middle of 'war' between Italian clubs

Numerically, Inter are well stocked in both midfield and defense, but the composition of the squad is not ideal — partly because of age, partly because of quality. In midfield, Asllani continues to reject offers from abroad, Zielinski’s high salary has severely limited the number of clubs that could sign him, and Mkhitaryan is at the end of his career. In defense, Inter have as many as seven players, but for the role of central, dominant defender they have Acerbi, who is now 37, and De Vrij, who is a few years younger but injury-prone.

Therefore, the most sensitive issue is the central defender role, and Kivu needs to be brave enough to demand a proper reinforcement there. And why not Leoni — if Cubarsí can play for Barcelona at 18, why couldn’t the young Italian play for Inter? To be fair, Inter do want to sign a central defender, but first they need to sell Pavard, since the decision has been made to keep Bisseck. With Bastoni and Carlos Augusto on one side, and Bisseck and Darmian on the other, the Frenchman is the logical candidate to be sold. Needless to say, Bastoni — along with Barella and Lautaro Martínez — forms the backbone of the Inter team and is absolutely not for sale under any circumstances.