Chivu Gets Kudos For The Transformation Of Inter Star As Lookman’s Signing Is Now Deemed Unnecessary

Written By Onyeka Daniel

It was a strange summer transfer market for Italian giants, Inter Milan as they brought in just five new signings to reinforce the team and also recalled Francesco Pio Esposito despite losing the Serie A title race to Napoli by just one point plus the UEFA Champions League final loss to PSG.

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On the other hand, there were two major talking points for the Nerazzurri when the window was still open, the possible signing of Ademola Lookman from Atalanta and the probable exit of Hakan Calhanoglu to move back to his homeland, but in the end, none of it happened.

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Atalanta refused to sell Lookman while Inter also held firm in their valuation of the Turkish midfielder which Galatasaray and Fenerbahce couldn’t match. As for the latter, he might still be leaving the club, but that would be in the next summer transfer window.

For now, it seems like Inter coach, Christian Chivu has found the perfect replacement for him within the squad as we saw from their recent match in the Serie A. According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Chivu has handed star midfielder, Nicolo Barella a new role in his midfield set up, turning the diminutive ace into an elite playmaker.

So far, Barella has been a crucial component of Inter’s midfield since joining the club from Cagliari in the summer of 2019.Indeed, known for his energy and dynamism, the 28-year-old has established himself as one of Europe’s best midfielders.However, Chivu has redefined Barella’s role this season.

Barella has built a name for himself as a box-to-box midfielder.Indeed, that has been his favorite position at San Siro and the Italy national team.However, Calhanoglu’s repeated injury problems and his possible exit in the future have forced the former Cagliari ace to adapt to a new role.

Furthermore, Chivu has chosen Barella to fill in for the Turk as the deep-lying playmaker as he couldn’t count on Calhanoglu in Saturday’s 4-1 victory over Cremonese at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium. Therefore, Barella filled the 31-year-old’s shoes and excelled.

Leveraging his technical skills and vision, Barella dictated the tempo and orchestrated play from deeper areas and he did it to perfection, but that doesn’t mean he would be taking the role permanently this season as Calhanoglu has proved himself to be an asset when on the field with goals and good control of the midfield.

Furthermore, Italian journalist Paolo Condo has praised Chivu for getting Inter back on track after a heartbreaking season. “Six matches are enough to provide some depth to these early-season impressions,” Condo admitted in his assessment of the team after their latest win.

“Especially since in each of the last four years, the second international break has always featured three of the four eventual Champions League qualifiers in the top positions. After the break, Serie A resumes with Roma vs Inter. It, somewhat surprisingly, will be the clash between the league’s best defense and best attack.”

Then, Condo delivered his verdict on Chivu’s early impact. “Chivu has finally completed the puzzle that fell apart in Monaco,” he stated. “He added that verticality, which, in modern football, is synonymous with entertainment.“It promises to be a great game,” Condo concluded.

The former Serie A champions head into the international break in fourth, only three points behind upcoming rivals Roma who, alongside Napoli on 12 points are the joint leaders of the league. Hence, the upcoming clash in the capital will have all the makings of a top-table six-pointer.

In a related development, Ciro Ferrara has shared his view on why Lookman would have struggled to fit into Inter under Chivu as he spoke to DAZN on one of the most publicized failed transfers in the summer that saw Inter’s €45m bid rejected for the Nigerian.

For the former Juventus and Napoli defender, he suggested that the Atalanta star “would have been on the bench” had he joined the Nerazzurri this season. “Lookman maybe had the chance to go to Inter, but he would’ve ended up on the bench.” Ferrara said.

“To fit him in, you’d have to change too much: the formation, the structure and the habits of players who already know their roles perfectly.” The former Parma coach has received lots of praise recently as he guided the Beneamata to a 4-1 win over Cremonese on Saturday evening.

The Romanian put his faith in young forward Ange-Yoan Bonny, who made his first start for Inter after following Chivu from Parma to Inter in the summer and for his first start, he picked up three assists and a goal in the victory against Cremonese in the absence of Marcus Thuram.

Ferrara then pointed to specific examples within Chivu’s system. “Think about Bastoni – you move him into a back four and he struggles a bit more. Same for Dimarco, who’s a pure wing-back. Changing the shape just to fit one player in would’ve created too many doubts.”

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He argues adding Lookman would have forced Chivu to alter his tactics that have helped bring results. Inter were linked with Lookman throughout the summer and were close to a move, but the two clubs failed to find an agreement and he subsequently returned to Bergamo.

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