The Olympics bring with them a lot of beautiful things, we are realizing it day after day. For example, we wake up and instead of saying “what a drag” we watch a badminton match, a random climb, two ping-pong shots, the 3000 steeplechase qualifications. How beautiful.
The other side effect – wonderful – is that the Games take up a lot of media space usually reserved for the transfer market. And in fact many are wondering: “Why are there so few market negotiations these days?”. But that’s not the case: the amount of true things is always the same, it’s the bullshit that doesn’t get space, thanks to the Olympics. Blessed ones, in this case.
Oh God, some bullshit still finds refuge, after all we are not yet equipped for miracles, but that’s okay. The fact is that exactly ten days before the start of the championship, a lot of teams are still in the midst of “work in progress”, they are full of holes, they have their things to resolve and fix. But it couldn’t be otherwise, after all, just take a look at the ranking of the ten most expensive signings so far in Serie A to realize that we are very far from the years of “we are the most beautiful of the cucuzzaro”.
Here it is, the ranking:
1) Douglas Luiz 51.50 million
2) Good morning 35 million
3) Dovbik 30 million
4) Soulé 25.60 million
5) The Fairy 23 million
6) De Ketelaere 22 million
7) Kephren Thuram 20,60
8) Pavlovic 18 million
9) Kean 18 million (13+5)
10) Martinez 15 million
Then, of course, there are the zero parameters that are not zero parameters and oh well, we’re just dragging out the broth because we’d like to talk about skateboarding or mountain biking but we can’t.
And so here’s a series of random things in very rapid sequence:
– Many think that Inter still has to do 202042 operations but they won’t. Dumfries is one step away from the renewal, Lautaro’s is just to be announced, a young man with great hopes will arrive in defense and goodnight. Chiesa? It only matters if he were to ever expire with Juve.
– Motta’s exit the other day – more or less agreed with the club? – has created a certain commotion: Giuntoli wants and must place a dozen players excluded from the project. Clarity is a good and right thing but, of course, it complicates a certain type of negotiation: if I want to buy from you, trivially, now I’ll stall to lower the price.
– It was said about Chiesa: it is unlikely that it will come to a head-on clash, in the end it is in everyone’s interest to find a solution. The feeling is that the Bianconeri will be satisfied with the amount to come out “even” (about 15 million) and that the player will choose a destination where he can re-emerge.
– Scamacca’s KO (what bad luck) has given rise to several side effects, two above all: the Bergamo club are looking for alternatives (keep an eye on Retegui, Pinamonti and Simeone) and will hardly release Koopmeiners even in the face of important offers. At that point Giuntoli could turn part of the grain set aside for the Dutchman to Fiorentina to get to Nico Gonzalez, now out of the Viola project.
– Gudmundsson and Fiorentina have shaken hands, nice move. Genoa are hoping for a little more money but will ultimately accept the offer of 25-26 million all-inclusive. Some say “but couldn’t Inter have taken him?”. No, for several reasons: the first is that Inter doesn’t have 25-30 million to spend, the second is that they don’t have space up front. If anything, the issue is another: Inzaghi would like a striker with characteristics similar to those that Sanchez (or, indeed, Gudmundsson) could have had. Will that type of player arrive, even just a young man willing to play as a fifth striker? Difficult. Having said that, does Inter have an incomplete squad? Let’s not joke, come on.
– Milan are putting the pieces of the puzzle together: Emerson Royal is getting closer, Manchester United are trying to break their balls for Fofana but the boy has given priority to the Rossoneri and, at the moment, does not intend to open up to other solutions. If he keeps his word, he will be Fonseca’s real reinforcement in midfield.
– Napoli has chosen to accelerate for Lukaku and even the walls know this. However, Conte breaks down the walls with headbutts and wants the acceleration to be significant. The Belgian will arrive.
Today, ladies and gentlemen, we challenge France at 8 pm in their home, in Paris. The Olympic volleyball final is at stake. Let’s gather in a cohort, we are ready to die, but don’t ask us to dive into the Seine because it is truly disgusting. Go Azzurri.