It May Be Time for Inter to Step Away from Lookman Chase | OneFootball

It’s been about a month since Inter suddenly decided to go all-in on Ademola Lookman. Despite the suitors’ best intentions to close the deal in a hurry and not turn into a war of attrition, that’s exactly what happened. After all, there’s no reason why Atalanta should make things easier for their competitors. As electrifying as he is, the decision-makers have to decide whether the juice is still worth the squeeze, given some big question marks.

The Timing

It’s been a strange summer for the Nerazzurri. Their moves are generally telegraphed and set up well in advance. They adhered to their usual MO with two early signings, Luiz Henrique and Petar Sucic, then Simone Inzaghi’s decision to leave blindsided them. They rebounded in okay fashion on the bench. Then, they went ahead and executed their pre-ordained strategy of getting younger up front, adding an up-and-coming talent like Ange-Yoan Bonny, who will be at worst a sound Marcus Thuram deputy, and trusting Francesco Pio Esposito, who’s coming off a stellar Serie B campaign and has ideal traits to complement their other strikers.

Then, it’s almost as if the ownership told the front office that there was an extra budget to do something big, and they chose the Bergamaschi star. Or, more likely, his agents started offering him around based on a dated promise and price tag, and they bit. It had been known that Lookman would most likely be gone this summer after he was reeled in late last year, but he had never been concretely linked to Inter before.

Unfortunately for all parties involved, there was a miscommunication, if not something more nefarious, about the terms of his transfer, and everything went awry from there. He hasn’t been practicing for a while, first due to a calf issue, then because he left the country to force his way out. While his frame will help him get into shape quickly, it’ll be a problem for any team that snaps him up. Plus, he wouldn’t be a plug-and-play piece if he indeed moved to San Siro.

The Tactical Reservations

The acquisition would have made a lot more sense before purchasing Bonny. They would have installed an elite three-man rotation, plus Esposito or a physical veteran to round out the frontline. They would have been able to field a menacing attack and have a great super-sub in each game and would have had an easier time divvying up the minutes. Instead, Inter risk a serious logjam by adding Lookman to the mix now.

Such a massive investment, especially in a team that has had very few of them in recent years, would naturally lead to a prominent role. The endgame would be the trident with Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez. While mouth-wateringly potent, it also requires a lot of work. Finding and fielding a muscular and defensive-minded midfielder next to Nicolò Barella wouldn’t suffice to have a decent balance, considering the aggressive traits of their wingbacks.

Christian Chivu contributed to saving Parma with a consecutive approach, the exact opposite of what they had been doing until that point. After being hired, there has seemingly been a concerted effort to shed that label, but it’s not a stigma or necessarily a bad thing. Their two stars were overworked, but their attack wasn’t what cost them the title last year, nor did it cause their demise in the Champions League final. There could be adverse effects to moving the Frenchman back to his old position after he successfully transitioned to the no.9 role. Furthermore, they have a whole lot of midfielders who wouldn’t be good fits and would inevitably be unhappy with the reduced opportunities.

Atalanta’s Tricky Position

Every deadline but the real one is fake in the transfer market, but the clock is ticking. Most of the pressure will soon be on La Dea. A reconciliation is the least likely scenario given all the bad blood and everything that has happened. Perhaps they think a foreign team will suddenly materialize and bail them out with an acceptable bid, which is never out of the question. Taking a stand, also to send a message to their other players, was fine. But the moment to realize that the situation is unsalvageable is nigh. They’ll have to set a reasonable price tag, or be fine with keeping a disgruntled player who might not show up to work and be part of the squad. They have been hardliners in the past, but they have never taken things so far.

The Alternatives

Perhaps they are just mind games to send a message, but Inter are reportedly considering using their ammo to sign Manu Koné from Roma instead of Lookman, Gianluca Di Marzio reports. Aside from the fact that it’d be wild for the Giallorossi to part ways with a player of that caliber this deep into the summer, and not at the start like Milan did with Tijjani Reijnders and Theo Hernandez, that would be the exact type of midfielder they would need if they onboarded the Nigerian star to avoid running Barella into the ground. A double swoop would properly answer to Napoli’s strong summer, but they’ll probably need a couple of profitable sales to foot it.

While the French international is rock-solid, it’d be an odd move to further bolster their midfield without addressing their aging backline. They haven’t lost anybody, Sucic has looked good so far, and Kristjan Asllani is the only player blatantly for sale. He’d help them get to a 3-4-1-2, which is a less stressful transition, but they’d need a slippery no.10 as well. While a few of their contributors can play in the hole, they either lack the athleticism to make a real difference, even if they have more freedom, or aren’t creative enough.

If it happens, the pivot has come a week too late. They should have just used the money to sign Giovanni Leoni and worry about offloading one of their defender later. They still can and should rejuvenate their rearguard, but that kind of talent doesn’t grow on trees.