In the Premier League, selling your players to a ’rival’ club is rare, especially during January transfer window. Spurs supremo Daniel Levy is famous for not letting his players join clubs he thinks are rivals (see: Luka Modrić and Harry Kane), and the same goes for Manchester United – they don’t want to loan (or sell) Jesse Lingard to West Ham, as they see the Hammers as their direct rivals for the fourth place in the Premier League and the Champions League spot. But, in Bundesliga, and especially in Serie A, this is common. Just look at new Inter signing: Robin Gosens.📣 | ANNOUNCEMENTRobin Gosens is an Inter player! ⚫️🔵👉 https://t.co/Mb5CY53wB1#WelcomeRobin #IMInter pic.twitter.com/3VRMFifPvj— Inter 🏆🇮🇹 (@Inter_en) January 27, 2022 The German international has officially signed for the current Serie A champions from Atalanta. A strange move for the Italian club, as they just gave away one of their best players to a direct rival for the Champions League place – on a loan. Inter Milan announced the deal and gave a short explanation that Gosens joined the club on loan with an obligation to buy ’if certain conditions are met’. It is not yet known what are conditions which needs to be met in order for Inter to buy Gosens, but if that happens, Italian champions will have to pay around 3 billion Ksh. The weirdest part – the loan is for year and a half! Quite a good business for Atalanta, who bought the German four years ago for a mere 126 million, but they won’t see their money until June 2023. On the other side, they refused an offer from Newcastle, who plays in England (not a direct rival) and offered 3.7 billion in cash.Atalanta brought in an African and one of the best Serie A dribblersItalian media are reporting that the player refused a bigger offer from the England club as he wanted to join Inter and continue to play in the Champions League.„I am so proud, as I have arrived at one of the biggest clubs in Europe and can’t wait to get started. I spoke to the coach last night on a videocall, he explained what he expects from me and I told him some of my ideas, we really want to work together. Over four years have passed since I arrived at Atalanta as an unknown youngster. This club gave me the opportunity to play in Serie A and the confidence to grow as a player and above all as a man. From the first minute, I gave my all for this jersey and Bergamo will always be a special city for me and my family. So thank you to the fans who supported me always, thank you to the teammates who helped me grow in every training session, thank you to the staff who put faith in me and thank you to the club who gave me the opportunity to play in a great league“ said Gosens on his Instagram account and after signing for Inter Milan.(8.00) GAMBIA (3.60) CAMEROON (1.60)Atalanta, who became a serious club over the years, and have produced some really good footballers and earned some serious cash, allowed their excellent full back to join a rival club in the middle of the season, for no cash until 2023. At least they could have waited until June 2022. Still, it remains a marvelous piece of business for Inter CEO Beppe Marotta, who once again showed his brilliance in transfer dealings.
