Look, you have to be excited about this signing. Inter does not sign prime-age players anymore. Everyone we sign is either an aging veteran or a young shot in the dark. Pavard is a name known by football fans around the world, in the prime of his career, and an established regular for an elite European club. This is a time to celebrate.
Do I have concerns about the cost? Yes. But fuck it. We need talented players and raised like 80M of plusvalenza this summer. Let's enjoy this.
Exactly.
This is a statement signing, for all the reasons you listed and more.
1) This is a player, playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world, having been a starter for most of his time there. This isn't an Eriksen playing for Spurs, or a Lukaku out of favour at Chelsea. This is a starter for one of the clubs you always list as being one of five or six favorites for the Champions League, each and every season.
2) He is in his prime, having won a World Cup and more silverware than 99% of footballers will ever see.
3) We literally beat out Manchester United for his signature - now, for whatever reason, maybe them using all up of their almost unlimited cash, they were still in the hunt for him for most of the window. Just check Redcafe. They'd love to have him, and most saw him as a player that would immediately make them better. I don't know what Beppe sold him on, but a marquee player choosing Inter over Manchester United we haven't seen since the noughties.
4) We even lowered the cost, reportedly, from the 40 million United agreed to to 30 + 2. That is outright ridiculous work. We aren't over-comitting on an expensive loan like Lukaku, and we didn't pay 20 million for someone like Eriksen who had no suitors and had 5 months left on his contract. We offered money that is perhaps a bit under Pavard's market value, and we're walking away with it, a long-term contract in hand.
5) This is the most expensive transfer of this year's Serie A. Now that perhaps says more about Serie A than Pavard, but this is a sign of strength and potency, and sends a message to the rest of the league. Who knows if we'll ever see that again under Zhang.
6) We're, at least on paper, massively strengthening our starting eleven and our bench.
Nothing to complain about.
Brilliant piece of business.
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