And now the market. Which will only officially begin on January 3, but which in fact began with the end of the Champions League group stage. Between announced shots, ongoing negotiations and the usual last minute surprises, the winter session will be a very important step for the continuation of the season. Who is worse off, at least at the moment, is Juventus. Forced to review her plans following the abrupt European elimination, the Lady wonders about the moves to be made between now and January 31st. Had the next round arrived, Marotta and Paratici would have attempted to buy an offensive winger and, perhaps, even a central midfielder. Now, however, the priority is to sell, also because the slip-up in Istanbul will cost at least 20 million, and only if the team reaches the bottom of the Europa League. In short, the strategies have changed, despite the fact that from Corso Galileo Ferraris they want to let it be known that the risk of elimination had already been calculated. Meanwhile, however, the Nainggolan negotiation is getting complicated, which could be postponed to next summer, provided that, in the meantime, someone else doesn't take it, and even the eligible wingers are reduced to the bone. A question of costs, but also of squad: is the Europa League really worth a further economic effort by the Agnelli family? We'll find out soon… Among the interested spectators there is also Antonio Conte, perhaps the most disappointed among the Juventus players. The coach, who was hoping for the winter market to then assault the big-eared cup, will be forced to postpone his goals again. And who knows, maybe Istanbul was his last Juventus bench in the Champions League...
The elimination shouldn't instead create enormous problems for Napoli, who have already decided to move on the market regardless of qualification. Sure, relegation to the Europa League didn't please De Laurentiis, but the growth project, as Rafa Benitez likes to call it, will continue. For Antonelli of Genoa it has already been done for some time (8 million will go to the Rossoblu), and also for N'Koulou (central defender of Marseille) and Gonalons (central midfielder of Lyon) we are at a good point. Eyes also on Kolarov (Manchester City), Matuidi (Psg, whose contract is about to expire just like Fernando del Porto) and Lamela, ADL's true dream. The Argentine, who has already been followed for a long time in the past, does not find space in Villas Boas' Tottenham: the cost would be prohibitive (Spurs paid him 30 million), but if the doors were opened for a loan… The Inter transfer market, perhaps the one from which we expect the most. The spotlights will be on Erick Thohir and his strategies, which have been rather nebulous so far. The walls of Corso Vittorio Emanuele tell us that the tycoon would have been clear and direct: yes to reinforcements, but only under certain conditions which did not make the Nerazzurri fans very happy. First of all, the purchases will be subordinated to the sales, which represents an old problem for Branca and Ausilio. How to place Pereira and Kuzmanovic without going too far? Difficult, not to say impossible. The solution could lie in the sale of a big name, one between Guarin and Ranocchia, to be clear. Chelsea likes the Colombian (Mourinho would have proposed Demba Ba and Obi Mikel, Inter only wants cash) and Manchester United, Benitez's defender at Napoli. Who could propose Paolo Cannavaro (appreciated by Mazzarri) plus a nice economic balance. Then the Nerazzurri would dive into the purchasing department, but here the second problem arises: the salary ceiling. Thohir does not want to exceed 2,5 million, which automatically excludes all the top players in circulation (such as Lavezzi, just to be clear). The Inter market would thus be dedicated to young players, a scenario that does not excite Walter Mazzarri at all. On the contrary, the technician is rather irritated and demands public clarity on the objectives from the management. "Either invest or tell the press and fans that this is a year zero" would have said WM, who considers it very difficult (if not impossible) to reach third place with the current squad.
Finally Milan, the only Italian team to reach the knockout stages of the Champions League. An important objective, which will bring about ten million in cash, at least immediately. A figure that will allow Galliani to reinforce the squad with the midfielder requested by Allegri, who must be a mix of quality and quantity. The target had already been identified in Kucka, who would arrive in exchange for Niang, but the Slovak broke his crusader thus forcing Via Aldo Rossi to change perspectives. Jorginho from Verona and Parolo from Parma are very popular, both pivots of their respective teams and therefore difficult to take, even if the excellent relations with the managers in question (Sogliano is in the predicament of moving to Milan shortly) could make things easier. Meanwhile, Galliani has already taken precautions with Rami and Honda. The former has already been training at Milanello for some time and will be available for the match against Atalanta on 6 January, the latter was made official on Wednesday and should make his debut on the same day, or at the latest a week later against Sassuolo.
On the other hand, the moves of the Romans (the Giallorossi are looking for opportunities, Lazio are linked to Petkovic's future) and Fiorentina (the Viola are also following the Lamela affair with interest) should be evaluated. For all one goal: to strengthen themselves by spending as little as possible. Who will be the best?
