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Inter CEO Ernesto Paolillo: We are targetting a young midfielder & a defender in January transfer window
The executive said they will be looking to bring bring in players over the winter but they will not spend massively on known stars, while talks over Thiago Motta's deal will wait
5 Dec 2011 09:19:00
Getty Images
EXCLUSIVE
By Rahul Bali
The famed Inter defence which managed to shut out Barcelona, considered by many as the best side ever, a couple of seasons ago in the Champions League seems to be a thing of the past, with a major overhaul expected.
The Nerazzurri have conceded as many as 18 goals in 14 league matches this term and have the dubious honour of having given away the most number of penalties.
All of the club's first-choice defenders, namely Lucio, Walter Samuel, Maicon and Cristian Chivu, are over 30 years old, which highlights the need to undergo a major overhaul in the rearguard.
Inter CEO Ernesto Paolillo agrees, telling Goal.com: “Yes, we need it. But he must be a young defender looking to the future. We are not prepared to spend a lot because of the rules of the Financial Fair Play. We are prepared to find talent and to lower the [average] age of our defence.
“The defence with [Jose] Mourinho gave the maximum - the top. But you must remember Samuel was last year injured for the whole season, and now he's back. Also Lucio [was] injured, Maicon too. We had problems over there but we have to start to build a young defence as we did with [Andrea] Ranocchia's [signing] - to have the defence for the future."
With the January transfer market less than a month away, Paolillo confirmed that the Italian giants are on the lookout for a creative midfielder and a defender. While the club has been time and again been linked with Palermo’s Josip Ilicic, valued around €30 million (£25.8m), and Universidad de Chile’s Eduardo Vargas, the Inter chief executive admitted that they are not prepared to spend big.
“We need defenders, we need a midfielder. But believe me, we will go all the way to take young players to put into the team, and not very well-known players,” he explained.
Thiago Motta, whose contract runs until the summer of 2013, has been linked with a move away from San Siro, although his agent has made it clear that their first option is to stay.
However, Paolillo categorically said that they are in no mood to discuss contracts at this point of the season.
“We are not working on contracts during the season, and it is not fair to do it now. We will discuss with the coach at the end of the season, the expiring contracts and transfers, on which player he wants to keep and also with the pay of contracts, what we can support following the rules of Financial Fair Play, then we will decide.”
By Rahul Bali
The famed Inter defence which managed to shut out Barcelona, considered by many as the best side ever, a couple of seasons ago in the Champions League seems to be a thing of the past, with a major overhaul expected.
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The Nerazzurri have conceded as many as 18 goals in 14 league matches this term and have the dubious honour of having given away the most number of penalties.
All of the club's first-choice defenders, namely Lucio, Walter Samuel, Maicon and Cristian Chivu, are over 30 years old, which highlights the need to undergo a major overhaul in the rearguard.
Inter CEO Ernesto Paolillo agrees, telling Goal.com: “Yes, we need it. But he must be a young defender looking to the future. We are not prepared to spend a lot because of the rules of the Financial Fair Play. We are prepared to find talent and to lower the [average] age of our defence.
“The defence with [Jose] Mourinho gave the maximum - the top. But you must remember Samuel was last year injured for the whole season, and now he's back. Also Lucio [was] injured, Maicon too. We had problems over there but we have to start to build a young defence as we did with [Andrea] Ranocchia's [signing] - to have the defence for the future."
With the January transfer market less than a month away, Paolillo confirmed that the Italian giants are on the lookout for a creative midfielder and a defender. While the club has been time and again been linked with Palermo’s Josip Ilicic, valued around €30 million (£25.8m), and Universidad de Chile’s Eduardo Vargas, the Inter chief executive admitted that they are not prepared to spend big.
“We need defenders, we need a midfielder. But believe me, we will go all the way to take young players to put into the team, and not very well-known players,” he explained.
Thiago Motta, whose contract runs until the summer of 2013, has been linked with a move away from San Siro, although his agent has made it clear that their first option is to stay.
However, Paolillo categorically said that they are in no mood to discuss contracts at this point of the season.
“We are not working on contracts during the season, and it is not fair to do it now. We will discuss with the coach at the end of the season, the expiring contracts and transfers, on which player he wants to keep and also with the pay of contracts, what we can support following the rules of Financial Fair Play, then we will decide.”
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| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
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| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
| Sign up with Paddy Power - Bet £10, Get £20! |
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