Inter Milan are running contingency plans on the right flank with Strasbourg’s Guela Doué identified as the primary fallback should the Anan Khalaili deal collapse, with three further alternatives already under consideration by the Nerazzurri hierarchy.
According to TUTTOmercatoWEB, with the CONI verdict on Khalaili’s medical and eligibility status still pending, Inter have moved immediately to reopen the right-sided dossier rather than wait on an uncertain outcome. The club had already seen a deal for Marco Palestra fall through earlier in the window before settling on the Union Saint-Gilloise midfielder.
Doué – the 2002-born Ivorian right-back, and brother of Desiré – is the lead candidate, a profile initially flagged by the Gazzetta dello Sport in recent weeks. His game is more defensively anchored than Palestra or Khalaili, functioning as a genuine full-back rather than an inverted winger, but he impressed at the recent World Cup and is viewed as a strong fit for Cristian Chivu’s system.
Strasbourg’s Valuation Complicates Doué Pursuit
The sticking point is price. Strasbourg are demanding in excess of €25 million for the Ivorian – a figure that already exceeds what Inter had agreed with Union Saint-Gilloise for Khalaili – though personal terms with Doué are not expected to be a problem. Contacts with his entourage have been re-established, but closing a deal with the French club will require work.
Meanwhile, three further names sit further down Inter’s list. Dodô of Fiorentina and Genoa’s Brooke Norton-Cuffy are both being monitored, though both rank behind Doué in the club’s order of preference. Rafik Belghali of Hellas Verona – who caught attention with a strong Algerian national team campaign – is the third option on the radar.
The Nerazzurri’s approach mirrors the broader defensive contingency framework Inter have applied across positions this summer – multiple named targets at different price points, no single dependency. The CONI decision on Khalaili will determine how urgently this contingency list becomes a live operation.
Bellanova was struggling when he was with us, he’s not a first-tier player, far from that, a big NO to him…
Why not inter consider to repurchase Raoul Belannova? I believe his a very good right wing, with a lot of pace, good dribbling, nice set piece and the most important is he’s an Italian
Using Diouf as a starting right wing back is a gamble, that’s not his natural position and despite the fact that he has shown some positive signs, he can in no way be our first option for that position, I think…
Agreed 100%, regardless of the ~$50 million we’ve spent we still need some actual key reinforcements that we are simply not getting right now in this transfer window.
Khalaili shows greater promise; he has the potential to reach a level like Hakimi’s.
Just use Andy Diouf as right wing back. He have a skill to pass the opponent. Have speed. Have power shoot.
that’s true but it’s a question of how much these three (with conditional expectation of Akanji) can raise the level of our game…I know that Stankovic had some good time in Belgium but it’s a question if he’s top-level starting material, at least at this point, I assume not…If we are to pursue trophies both at home and in Europe, we need significant reinforcements, but under this ownership, I don’t see any of them coming any time soon…
I agree has not been a great mercato and feels like its going to be a fail but something many people forget is that Akanji and Stankovic did cost a pretty penny to bring back. Akanji, Stankovic and Provedel cost Inter $46million in transfer fees not including signing bonuses which is probably another $5mil combined so can assume we’ve spent ~$51mil already which compared to other top clubs is still nothing but to us that is a lot sadly
almost mid-July and we haven’ made a purchase yet though we need strong players for critical positions…this mercato threatens to be even worse than the last year’s..