From Sassuolo U-Turn To Last Minute Sampdoria Disappointment – Inter Milan Outcast’s Endless Summer Transfer Saga | OneFootball

Despite strong links to Sassuolo and Sampdoria, goalkeeper Andrei Radu is still at Inter Milan after an endless summer transfer saga.

Italian outlet FCInterNews detail the ins and outs of what turned out to be a frustrating summer for the Romanian international.

For the entire summer transfer window, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Radu would leave Inter.

The 26-year-old is certainly not a player with any part in the Nerazzurri’s first plans.

And Radu found himself back at Inter after a loan spell at Bournemouth last season.

It was little surprise that the Premier League club did not sign Radu on a permanent basis at the end of his loan. He barely featured in his season on loan at the Vitality Stadium.

Therefore, it was back to square one for Radu as far as looking for a new club.

In the 2022-23 season, Radu had been out on two separate loan spells. He spent the first half of the campaign at Cremonese, and then the second at Auxerre.

Out of his recent loan spells, it was only at Auxerre that Radu was the first-choice starter.

Therefore, the Romanian always made it clear that his only priority for the summer transfer window was that he join a club where he would receive playing time so he could find consistent form.

Why Sassuolo & Sampdoria Deals Fell Through – Leaving Andrei Radu Still At Inter

There were a few different transfer links involving Radu during the summer.

These included a couple clubs in France. Both Nantes and Strasbourg showed an interest in bringing the 26-year-old back to Ligue 1.

This perhaps made a level of sense considering that it had been in the French top flight where Radu last played regularly and showed good form.

But it was clubs in Serie B that showed the strongest interest in the month of August.

First, there was Sassuolo.

The Neroverdi reached an agreement on a deal for Radu with Inter. They were ready to sign the Romanian on a permanent basis without a transfer fee.

Sassuolo would, however, owe 30% of future resale to Inter.

Radu was ready to sign a two-year contract with the Emilian club, containing an option for a third.

However, the Romanian ended up having doubts. He declined the offer, as he felt that there was no guarantee that he would be the first-choice starter.

About ten days later, Radu decided he would accept a move to Sassuolo after all. But by then, the Neroverdi had already loaned in keeper Horatiu Moldovan from Atletico Madrid.

This left Radu stranded at Inter.

As deadline day approached, Sampdoria seemed to be ready to offer Radu a last-minute lifeline.

Blucerchiati Sporting Director Pietro Accardi has always been a big fan of Radu. He had already tried to bring the Romanian to Empoli.

But then, Sampdoria decided to sack Andrea Pirlo as coach. They replaced him with Andrea Sottil.

Sottil’s priority was to sign an experienced keeper. He chose Marco Silvestri, whom he’s already worked with at Udinese.

Therefore, for the time being, Radu is back at Inter.

Possible Last Minute Exit Routes

There is still a faint hope that there could be an exit route for the 26-year-old to a league where the transfer window is still open.

Radu could return to his native Romania. Alternatively, the Inter keeper could be in for a move to the Greek or Turkish top flights.

But at the moment, it looks as though Radu will simply remain at Inter.

This will be the case at least until the end of the January transfer window, when the Nerazzurri could have another crack at offloading the Romanian.

It has been a difficult story for Radu at Inter.

Most infamously, the Romanian was the keeper whose howler saw Inter lose away to Bologna in a match that was viewed as handing the Serie A title to city rivals AC Milan in the 2021-22 season.

Radu’s contract with Inter expires at the end of next June.

Therefore, the Nerazzurri will either have to sell the Romanian once and for all before then, or else lose him on a free transfer when his deal runs out. There can be no more loans.

But this summer, things have not gone according to plan either for Radu or for Inter.