The winter transfer window has come to a close and Inter have made some important moves for the short and long term future of the club. The window has also seen a number of players sent out on loan to gain valuable experience and game time.
The first confirmed signing of the window was Juan Jesus, a 20 year old central defender from Brazilian club Internacional. Having arrived for a fee in the region of €5 million and with relatively little experience it was believed that he would initially be sent out on loan, with Novara regularly linked, however Inter have decided to keep hold of him and dictate his development themselves.
Juan is certainly a signing for the future and will not be rushed into the team, however he has already shown great potential having featured for the Brazilian Under-20 team as well as winning the Copa Libertadores. His playing style has been likened to his childhood hero and now Inter team mate Lucio, with his ability to play the ball out from defence as well as his physical style.
Having been previously linked to Juventus the next player to arrive at Appiano Gentile was Fredy Guarin from F.C. Porto. Guarin had been struggling for playing time at Porto and has arrived on an initial loan deal until the end of the season costing Inter €1.5million, with the option of a permanent deal set at €11million.
His combative and energetic style will add much needed enthusiasm to the heart of the Inter midfield and his pace also allows him to play on the right. Guarin also showed an eye for goal in his time at Porto scoring 22 goals in 66 appearances from midfield, another area that Inter have been looking to improve.
The final arrival of the window was the deadline-day signing of Sampdoria captain and Italian International Angelo Palombo. His arrival was forced by the departure of Thiago Motta who joins up with former Inter manager Leonardo at Paris Saint-Germain. Despite pleads by coach Claudio Ranieri for Motta not to be sold, pressure from his agent and Motta’s lack of enthusiasm for continuing on with the Nerazzurri saw him sold for a fee of €10 million to the French giants.
While Motta spent numerous spells on the sidelines injured he was undoubtedly an extremely important player during his time at Inter. He was a key man in Inter’s treble winning year and this year more than ever showed his importance with Inter winning 90% of their games with Motta in the team.
Having lost Motta Inter could hardly of picked a better short term replacement than Palombo who has vast Serie A experience and also specialises in playing in the same deep midfield role that Motta occupied. Palombo has also arrived on a loan deal with the option to make the deal permanent at seasons end. His arrival will give a much needed toughness to Inter’s midfield who at times have been too easily over-run by rivals like Juventus and AC Milan.
The winter window also saw Inter loan out a number of players as well as finally offloading Sulley Muntari to cross town rivals AC Milan. Philippe Coutinho has departed on a six month loan to Spanish outfit Espanyol, a move taken for the young Brazilian to gain more game time and build confidence having struggled to break into the team this term.
His fellow Brazilian Jonathan has also been loaned out for similar reasons and will see out the season with Parma. Other players who have gone out on loan are keeper Emiliano Viviano to Palermo, Luca Caldirola to Brescia and struggling midfielder McDonald Mariga who has returned to Parma via Real Sociedad.
While the winter transfer window stayed true to form and did not lead to any marque signings, the additions made to the club provide both short and long term solutions to the team. With his squad now set Claudio Ranieri can now go about planning the final six months of the season as Inter search for a minimum third place finish in Serie A and a deep run in the Champions League.
Follow Herbert Hodgson on twitter @herberthodgson
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