Inter's Summer Transfers - Do They Really Fit In With Gasperini's Formations?

With about a month left in this year's summer transfer window have Inter lived up to the promises made at the end of last season?  Unfortunately not! Don't get me wrong I believe that the players we have signed will be useful to us, but I believe that the biggest thing holding us back is Gasperini's formations. 

We have signed two wing backs, Nagatomo & Jonathan, yet in Gasperini's formations there is no place for wing backs meaning that these two and Maicon will be forced to play as wingers or full backs dependent on whether we're playing with a 3 man or 4 man defence.  It's not just the defence that is causing problems with fitting players in, our biggest signing so far is Alvarez who plays CAM or as a winger but so far this pre-season he's been pushed into a deeper midfield position or as right forward which in the match against Galatasaray he looked pretty uncomfortable in my opinion.  Also on the subject of midfielders out of position Gasperini's formations are also forcing Sneijder (one of the best trequartistas in the game) to play a deep central position which to be fair Wes is taking in his stride and playing well in, though it's hardly taking advantage of the talent available. 

Inter presents new boys Castaignos & Alvarez, then Branca talks Transfers

This morning saw the forth training session at the Pinzolo pre season camp, after warm up exercises & tactical practice Gasperini allowed fans in to watch the second part of the session, which was concerned with physical & athletic training. Following the session Eto'o kept a promise made to a fan & stayed for half a hour to sign autographs & have his photo taken. Then this afternoon Inter's new signings were presented to the assembled media.

Ricardo Alvarez - Could he be THE transfer of the summer?

To be honest before Inter put in a bid for 'Ricky' i hadn't heard of him which isn't too surprising as he was playing for Velez Sarsfield in Argentina and i don't really follow Argentinian football, but when i heard the rumours that we had jumped in with a late bid when it looked like he was going to sign for Arsenal i decided to Google him & from what i found out i quickly realised that this could be an excellent signing for Inter.  As the video below shows he is a very talented lad who is versitile and has very good all control & vision.

Luc Castaignos - Inter's newest striker

Luc Castaignos was technically Inter's first signing this summer as the deal was signed on March 4th 2011, from Feyenoord, and should be an excellent acquisition for Inter as the Dutch striker has been receiving praise from around the world and he is being dubbed as the new Thierry Henry.

He was born on the 27th September 1992 in Schiedam, Netherlands and is the top scorer of all time for the Netherlands under-17 national team, though he currently plays for the under-19 national team. 

When the 18 year old arrived at the club hotel in pinzolo for his first training sessions with the Nerazzurri he gave an interview to the awaiting journalists :

"It's hard to find words to describe how happy I am to be playing for such a great club as Inter," said Luc. The Nerazzurri shirt will be a way of confirming his talent after all the goals and success he has had in Holland with Feyenoord: "It's true, I find it easy to score and if I'm playing for a great team it should be even easier." He already knows most of his new Inter team-mates ("Wesley Sneijder a bit better because he's Dutch"), but he also played against Luca Caldirola, last season at Vitesse: "I scored my first league goal against him... ".  Castaignos is quick and he sees the goal. "Am I like Henry? Lots of people have said this but I am Castaignos and he is Henry."

Transfers: Yuto Nagatomo Signs For Inter

On Friday 1st July on the official start of the new season Inter have completed the full signing of wing back Yuto Nagatomo, who regular readers of my blog will know i've been backing since his first games for Inter when he signed on a loan contract in January, during his loan period with us he appeared 19 times in Serie A, Coppa Italia & Champions league games scoring twice.  The deal to buy out Nagatomo's contract with Cesena for 6.5 million Euros with a wage of 1.5 million per year for 5 years includes joint ownership of defender Luca Caldirola (who joined Inter at the age of 8) & striker Luca Garritano (who joined Inter at the age of 14) Caldirola who is a Under 21 international will be available for Inter's 1st team squad and Garritano who is a Under 17 International will be available for our Primavera team.

Latest Inter Transfer Rumours, Leonardo To Stay & Mourinho says 'His Team' Needs Rebuilding

With the end of what i like to think of as Inter's hangover season in sight (Thank God!!!) the rumours of changes of management and players are coming thick and fast for our beloved Nerazzurri, with most of the footballing world agreeing that Inter needs some big changes to stay up there with the likes of Barcelona.  Of course a lot can change before the start of next season but there are some rumours that just don't seem to go away so i thought i'd share the latest versions of these stories with you all and start the excitement for next season early!

My suggestions for the rebuilding of Inter Milan

After getting knocked out of the Champions league quarter finals by such an overwhelming scoreline many people (myself included) have been suggesting that Inter needs a major shake up of the squad and the way we do things, so I thought I'd write this post to share with you all what I consider to be a suitable solution to our problems ( Be warned some of my suggestions may be highly controversial amongst my fellow Interista)......

Manchester United & Chelsea chase Inter's Wesley Sneijder



Wesley Sneijder has undoubtedly been one of the best players in the world over the past two years, leading Inter to a historic treble in 2010 and his native Dutch to the World Cup Final in South Africa.

Therefore it's fair to say that a transfer of one of the best players in the world would be the biggest transfer in the summer.
Inter's president has admitted that Sir Alex Ferguson has contacted him as to the Dutchman's availability, with Chelsea also said to have expressed interest in the midfielder.
Sneijder would obviously be a great addition for either club; £40m has been mentioned as a potential price tag on Inter's main man, like all Interista worldwide i want to see him stay with the Nerazzurri but reports are suggesting he's had enough of Italian football and has got his eye on a move to the English Premiership.

Latest Inter News: Nagatomo risks Inter place for Japan, Pazzini in love with the Nerazzurri & Sanchez speculation grinds on

It's international break week but there's still plenty going on involving Inter and it's players.  Here are three stories keeping you up to date with our beloved Nerazzurri...

Inter eye up summer move for Carlos Tevez as Diego Milito replacment

In the last week there have been rumours of Genoa wanting to re-sign Inters treble winning hero Diego Milito after he has spent most of this season on the sidelines due to ongoing injuries.  As sad as i'd be to see Milito leave Inter it has to be said that when he has played this season he's been no where near as influential as he was last season and rumours that are flying around today make this that little bit more bearable as reports suggest that President Moratti has got his eye on Manchester City's want away captain Carlos Tevez.

Inter looking to strengthen attacking line up in the summer

As the season runs in the summer transfer rumours are starting already with reports linking Inter with two of the most sought after strikers in the world.

Maicon happy to stay at Inter

Reports on several websites have stated that Maicon is still after a move to Real Madrid, the report below comes from the Tribal football website claiming that the agent of Inter Milan fullback Douglas Maicon cannot shut the door on a move to Real Madrid.

Inter & Chelsea keep tabs on Kaka as Real look to cut their losses

Chelsea and Inter Milan have been put on red alert after reports emerged that Real Madrid are ready to offload Kaka in the summer.
Speculation has intensified of late that Los Blancos are prepared to cut their losses on the Brazilian playmaker who has endured a frustrating time at the Santiago Bernabeu since arriving in a £58million (Dh345m) deal from AC Milan in 2009.