Inter Midfielder Recalls His Failed Move To England

Written By Onyeka Daniel

It is not in every transfer window that a player gets to attract interest from big clubs, and perhaps, this is why some players go to great length to secure a transfer, going as far as refusing to train, or play as they know that the opportunity might never come again, and they will be left with regrets.

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For Inter midfielder, Piotr Zielinski, he has definitely been in that situation, as he revealed that he was close to joining Liverpool when he was still at Udinese, as coach Jurgen Klopp invited him to his house and flattered the Polish international by calling him ‘a mix between Fabregas and Gundogan’.

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The 30-year-old joined the Nerazzurri in July as a free agent after letting his contract at Napoli expire, deciding to extend his stay in Italy, which started in 2012 when he made his first Serie A appearances with Udinese. Before signing for the Azzurri in the summer of 2016, Zielinski spent two seasons at Empoli on loan.

There, he drew the interest of several big clubs thanks to his displays.That was also the time when Liverpool approached Udinese to secure a deal for the midfielder, sending a ‘private jet’ to pick him up and give him a chance to discuss his move with then-Reds’ manager Klopp in person. Zielinski reveals Klopp defined him as a ‘mix between Fabregas and Gundogan”

“Jurgen Klopp invited me to his house,” Zielinski revealed in an interview with Foot Truck. “Liverpool sent a private jet to pick me up. I was shocked because it was the first time I travelled on that means of transport. When we landed, we took the bus to go to Klopp’s. It was a building, he had everything there.

The Polish midfielder recalled the flattering comparison the German coach made in an attempt to persuade him to join Liverpool. “The conversation was great. Klopp told me that I am a mix between Fabregas and Gundogan in his opinion. I didn’t understand anything, but my agent spoke German and told me everything.

“When we were leaving, I managed to take a picture with Klopp.” Zielinski explained deal eventually didn’t go through due to Udinese’s demands, and not because of a picture in which the player posed with a Liverpool shirt as it was rumoured back then. “They offered €18.5m, but Udinese wanted something more,” the Polish international said.

“Nevertheless, Liverpool couldn’t exceed a certain limit for me, as I wasn’t a top player yet. The other side of the coin is that I also didn’t feel like that.“I don’t think [the picture in Liverpool’s shirt] had any effect. It wasn’t a big scandal, but [journalist] Bartosz Ignacik could’ve avoided all that. I was young, stupid and unaware and that’s the way it ended up. But it hadn’t any effect.”

Zielinski is still trying to become a regular starter under Simone Inzaghi at Inter, as he made all four Serie A appearances by coming on as a substitute since joining the Nerazzurri. In a related development, Inter talent Valentin Carboni is set to return to the club after his loan spell with Olympique de Marseille, despite Roberto De Zerbi’s side having a €36m option to buy.

He suffered a potentially season-ending injury while away on international duty with Argentina. Marseille have since confirmed that he has ruptured his cruciate ligament (ACL). This means that Marseille are now set to send Carboni back to San Siro once his loan spell is completed. He has made just four appearances in Ligue 1 so far this season.

Only one of which came as a starter, and that game ended in a half-time substitution. Had Marseille opted to purchase Carboni for the pre-arranged €36m fee, the Nerazzurri would have had a buy-back option set at €40m. This means that Inter will not receive a large fee from Marseille in the summer.

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But it could present an opportunity for Simone Inzaghi, who could re-introduce the teenager to the Nerazzurri squad for 2024-25 season, which would complete an attacking unit that already contains Lautaro Martinez, Marcus Thuram and Mehdi Taremi.

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