The era of the oak began with a lot of trouble. In home Inter the theme of the week, in the week that marked the change of ownership, was not the advent of Oaktree but the future of Lautaro Martinez. The contract renewal of which is not a cause for concern, as Nerazzurri CEO Beppe Marotta also recently reiterated, but he has started to live in much longer terms than what was estimated when he was given around the corner.
Yesterday the meeting with Alejandro Camano. Piero Ausilio met the Argentine striker’s agent, away from the office and from prying eyes. The next steps: the agent reports to the player and the sporting director to the rest of the management, with a new round on the agenda between now and the middle of next week. The unofficial version refers to an interlocutory summit: after months of negotiations between the Italian champion club and its captain, in which the positions remained more or less unchanged, the term says a lot. The distance that justifies the delays is intact, wide and entirely economical, although the agent himself has said that the fans are not interested in the salaries of their favorites. Lautaro asks for a salary of 12 million euros as a starting point. Inter can make an effort – 8 plus bonuses, reaching 10 all inclusive – but they cannot reach those figures. And perhaps he wouldn’t want to even if he could, considering that it would unbalance the entire wages and the internal balance of the locker room.
At the request of Bull multiple interpretations can be given. Since renewing at those figures is unrealistic, either he is dragging his feet to get the best possible contract or he is preparing the sale. In the matches that will follow, at Inter they expect Camano to take a step in one direction or another. Towards Inter, bringing the agreement closer; or towards elsewhere, making it clear that the intention is that. Just be clear. Where? The Spanish side are to be excluded – Atletico would like them but don’t have the means and the competitiveness, plus they are closing for Dobvyk – as are Bayern; the English ones always come in handy in cases like this, but in this case it seems less so. Discarding exotic hypotheses to which Lauti has already said he said no last summer, Occam’s razor and not only that leads to Paris Saint-Germain having to replace Mbappé and he has already got some information. At that point, the issue would become what Lautaro’s true assessment might be. But it is a topic that many fans – not all: the majority understand the club’s reasons more than those of the player – hope not to have to face.