Four days after the closing of the transfer period, Inter’s sporting director Piero Ausilio, assesses the transfer market operated by the Nerazzurri in an interview with Inter Channel. Here are his statements over the phone to Roberto Scarpini: “I feel in good conscience and I believe the guidelines we gave were respected. The objective was to stay within the parameters, which we respected completely. I’m satisfied and calm. Let’s not forget that Inter is under the magnifying glass of FFP which has to be taken into account. We’ve reduced our signing budget, and today we’re at approximately €70 million. In Turin there were many young players born in the 1990’s. The average age of the team is 25.6, which is nearly two and a half years younger compared to previous years. The team needs time, it is young and talented, but we don’t want much, just to give the coach the chance to create a team that is hungry and that is tough for anyone to deal with. Therefore we have followed the guidelines given by the work group. The objective was to meet the parameters given and that has certainly been done.”
When asked about specific players, Ausilio stated: “When we studied the transfer market we established that Kovacic and Icardi were not up for sale and the president agreed. We never arrived into something in the terms of negotiations, I read some numbers but they were never made by us. There arrived other offers but they were not satisfactory, as in the case of Guarin. We made a move ahead of the transfer window with Vidic. The opportunity came up in January when his contract was about to expire and we made sure we didn’t let it slip away. Many people say he is a great player, but we didn’t give anyone else the chance to think about it. By early February he was already an Inter player. He has technical quality and a personality that he transmits to the team since Pinzolo. Then we started from the expiration of the contract and in accordance with the economic stakes we looked for those players who could have the characteristics we were looking for on the transfer market. With Dodo, Medel, M’Vila and Osvaldo four players have arrived that mirror our needs ant they are players that are important for the Inter’s present and future. I’m happy because we did what we had in mind. We have perhaps been too good. I try to keep a low profile but I’m not going to pass the thought that Inter didn’t do anything the last week because we’ve given the coach five important players with 15-20 working days. These aren’t flashy signings, but ones that are practical and logical for our project. Everything was done with the coach always informing the president.”
Finally, on the last hours of the transfer market: “Inter had prepared everything very well, there were two players stuck for some time, therefore we got organized. They were only waiting for a call from Inter and a contract proposal. This to me is a merit, then everything depended on us. Expressions of interest arrived for Guarin but we did not considered them valid for our project, the same for him. At the time when Guarin was taken off the market we notified the clubs involved, the last being Atalanta. Inter had Bonaventura locked, then notified and he became an opportunity for someone else. Perhaps until 8.30 pm Milan did not even know that the player was on the market. We are happy to keep Guarin, everything has been agreed with the coach, the player knew that there would be a new tactical plan for him in the event he stayed. Guarin and Mazzarri are very enthusiastic in view of the new ideas in the offensive department, already covered with Icardi, Osvaldo and Palacio, to which I add Puscas and Bonazzoli. We don’t speak of opportunities if you don’t give these guys not even a glimmer of succeeding. Thohir has always been informed of everything, including the situation of Bonaventura. We think that the team should be balanced, the coach wants motivated players in his team, in which everyone feels important. It’s a fair number which means that everyone can feel involved in the project and have the opportunity to play. The goal was to close with a list of 25 players, taking into account the possibility of keeping Mbaye, who ended up on the UEFA B-list, also makes us comfortable. The balance is in the numbers and logic, we are covered in defense and midfield but also in attack. You don’t measure the ability of the offensive unit based on the number of players you have.”
Source: fcinternews.it
