Replacing Andre Onana with Yann Sommer has proven to be a coup both on and off the pitch for Inter Milan this season.
This is the view in today’s print edition of Rome-based newspaper Corriere dello Sport, via FCInterNews.
Inter made a big decision last summer to sell Andre Onana to Manchester United.
The Cameroonian was sold just twelve months after he had arrived, on a free transfer from Ajax.
And in Onana’s single season at Inter, he had proved to be a vital player to the team. The 27-year-old’s saves were particularly significant in the Champions League.
But Inter ultimately decided that selling their first-choice goalkeeper was a worthy sacrifice to make.
The mammoth €55 million transfer fee that Inter received for Onana proved necessary to invest in players coming in the other direction.
Replacing Onana With Sommer A “Coup On & Off The Pitch” For Inter
Of that huge €55 million windfall, Inter reinvested just €6 million in signing a replacement.
The Nerazzurri decided on veteran former Borussia Monchengladbach keeper Sommer.
Given the Swiss international’s age, Inter were able to negotiate a fee with Bayern.
That left the rest of the fee for Onana to reinvest in targets elsewhere on the pitch, like Benjamin Pavard and Davide Frattesi.
But Inter were of course taking a risk. They were allowing a key player from last season to leave, and replacing him with a player at a fraction of the cost.
But so far this season, the transition to Sommer has not proven problematic at all.
The 35-year-old has kept fifteen clean sheets in 24 Serie A matches so far. And he has let in just twelve goals in total.
Sommer has been just the safe pair of hands that Inter have needed.
And he replaced Onana for what proved to be a significant net profit.
