It’s been 5 years since Inter last won the famous treble under Mourinho’s management during the 2009/10 campaign. Inter Milan have been on a steady decline since then, degrading in every subsequent season and failing to qualify for the Champions League next season. However, the next season looks set to be one with a lot of promise as Inter have finally made a signing of intent with the capture of Geoffrey Kondogbia.
Former Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini had publicly prioritized a powerful central midfielder as a new signing for his Inter side for the coming season and was reportedly targeting Yaya Toure. The signing of Kondongbia has not only instilled hope in the fans but also showed them intent in the form of making young, talented players a priority over chasing veterans.
The Frenchman started his career with lowly-Lens but showed his untapped ability away with Sevilla in Spain. Wanted by many clubs, he eventually joined the then nouvea-riche Monaco for €20m, among other high-profile signings made by the club like James Rodriguez and Joao Moutinho.
Kondogbia made a total of 26 appearances in the league for Monaco during the 2013/14 season on their way to a second place finish in the league. His best moment in a Monaco shirt came in Europe in the previous season as the 22-year-old put in a stellar performance as Monaco beat Arsenal 3-1 at the Emirates.
Much like in the mould of Yaya Toure, the French international drives forward with the ball at his feet with purpose and intent, initiating attacks for his team while also offering a defensive shield for his backline. A versatile addition to the squad – Kondongia can play a range of positions for the Nerazzurri as he can also operate at centre-back and at left-back when required. Also, the young Frenchman still has a lot of room for improvement and Inter fans can be assured that he will develop his game further under Mancini’s guidance.
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It has been an off-season of a lot of drama in Milan as heavy changes and decisions have been taken at AC Milan over the summer. None more important than the signing of Columbian striker – Carlos Bacca from Sevilla for a reported £21.5million. The striker was linked with a move to the Premier League this summer after helping the Spanish side to another Europa League title.
The Colombian international who had three years left on his contract with Sevilla joined the the Andalusian outfit from Club Brugge in 2013 and has gone on to score 34 goals in 71 appearances. Sevilla obviously wanted to keep Bacca, who was prolific in the Primera Division last season, scoring 20 goals in 37 appearances to help Sevilla finish fifth and a further seven goals in the Europa League, including two in last month’s final that saw Sevilla beat Dnipro 3-2 to win the competition for Sevilla – a record fourth time.
Milan have brought in a forward to supplement Menez who seemed to do much of the heavy lifting himself for the Rossoneri last season, contributing 16 goals with a further four assists. An astute finisher and a prolific striker – Bacca is a striker who in terms of La Liga goals, was only bested by Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Antoine Griezmann and Neymar. He’s led Sevilla to consecutive titles in Europe’s second most prestigious competition.
The signing of Bacca by the Milanese clearly marks an attempt to drastically improve the deteriorating fortunes at the San Siro.
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Louis van Gaal’s signings in his first season didn’t particularly set the world alight to say the least and the Dutchman has been criticised by a few for the choice of his acquisitions. However, the signing of young Dutchman Memphis Depay has breathed a new lease of life into the minds of Manchester United fans.
Stealing the young Dutch attacker from PSG who were reportedly very close to signing the former PSV star; Louis van Gaal intervened at the last moment to change Depay’s mind and get him to England. Manchester United wrapped up the £25million deal for the youngster who had played under Van Gaal in the Netherlands national team just a year ago.
A fearless winger who is constantly on the score-sheet; Depay came through the ranks of PSV Eindhoven in Holland.
Rewarded for his performances in the Eredivise with a call-up to the 2014 Netherlands World Cup squad by Louis van Gaal; he wasn’t a regular for the team but still left a mark on the international stage, scoring 2 goals and providing an assist in his 3 appearances off the bench.
The 2014/15 season with PSV confirmed Memphis Depay as one of the brightest young talents around as he netted 22 goals and provided 5 assists as PSV won Eredivisie after a gap of 7 years. Drawing a lot of comparisons to another Manchester United winger who had signed for the 20-time English Champions with a reputation as Depay’s; the 21-year-old will have to provide to prove his worth to the United faithful.
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Six new faces will don the Liverpool Red next season but none of them have generated the excitement that Roberto Firmino has since being confirmed as a Liverpool player. Critics and fans have sung praises of the the plundering Brazilian who has been on a meteoric rise to stardom in recent years.
The Reds signed Firmino in a deal supposedly around £29 million from TS Hoffenheim. Thus, making him the second most expensive signing in the club’s history, after Andy Carroll.
Firmino rose to fame during his five-year stay with Hoffenheim, whom he joined in 2010. The 2013/14 season being his most productive one and his breakthrough season till date. He was named Bundesliga’s Breakthrough Player of the Season after scoring an impressive 22 goals in 37 appearances as a midfielder. He carried his form onto the next season netting 7 goals and dishing out 10 assists. The Brazilian made his international debut for his country in November 2014 and recently played for the Selecao at Copa America 2015.
The 22-year-old is an astute passer with silky dribbling skills playing in a position right behind the frontman. It’ll be very intriguing to see how Firmino combines with Liverpool’s master-creator in chief – Phillipe Coutinho this season.
An incredibly versatile player, Firmino’s abilities to operate as a striker when required makes him an even better prospect than he already is. Having struggled for goals Brendan Rodgers can do well with more options up front if any of his strikers under-perform.
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Understandably reluctant to let ‘one of the three best goalkeepers in the world’ to go; Jose Mourinho eventually said goodbye to Petr Cech as the Chelsea legend left for the Gunners on a four-year contract. The decision to let Cech depart for bitter rivals – Arsenal was approved by Roman Abramovich. The Blues’ loss is Arsenal’s gain as the Czech international brings more than 10 years of EPL experience to the Gunners, having made 486 appearances for their cross-town rivals.
The 33-year-old joined Chelsea under Claudio Ranieri’s management, who initially bought him to be an understudy to Carlo Cudicini. However, it was Mourinho after taking over at the helm who promoted Cech to his starting eleven in a debut season for both the player and the manager. It paid off as Chelsea won the league, conceding only a record 15 goals in that season. Cech kept a record 21 clean sheets during the campaign, won the Golden Glove and was also included in the PFA Team of the Year.
The Czech international has won numerous individual accolades along his illustrious association with the Blues including three Premier League Golden Gloves and the 2011 Chelsea Player of the Year award among many others.
During his 11-year stay at Chelsea, Cech won an incredible 13 major trophies including the club’s first ever Champions League trophy, a memorable penalty shootout victory over Bayern Munich in the 2012.
Arsenal have lacked a world-class goalkeeper since the departure of Jens Lehmann back in 2008 and the capture of Cech for around £11 million, has had the fans hoping for an end to the problems between the sticks.
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