Inter Milan Spent Under $8M On These Napoli-Conquering Heroes

Inter has reasserted itself as Serie A favourites for 2023-24 with an emphatic 0-3 win over Napoli at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, leaping above Juventus to reclaim top spot.

Napoli, the incumbent Serie A champions, suffered yet another home defeat – their fourth of the campaign – and find themselves 11 points off the pace in fifth position. It’s the Partenopei’s worst home record (at this stage of the season) since 1997, back when Corrado Ferlaino ruled, Max Allegri played and Napoli went through four coaches.

With the result, Inter has reaffirmed itself as Italy’s frontrunner, with many praising the club’s sporting director Beppe Marotta for snaring Marcus Thuram, the French forward joining as a free agent from Bayern Monchengladbach. Thuram, who scored 34 goals in the German Bundesliga between 2019 and 2023, outshone Lautaro Martinez in Naples, and sealed victory with his 85th-minute finish – a goal that effectively put Gli Azzurri to the sword both metaphorically and metaphysically.

The plaudits have also extended to Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer. The 34-year-old has nine clean sheets having played 14 Serie A matches, already bettering André Onana’s record from last season. The $7.36M (€6.8M) signing was Thuram’s teammate at Monchengladbach until January 2023 when Bayern Munich bought him as temporary cover for then-injured Manuel Neuer. Impressively, Inter managed to replace Romelu Lukaku and André Onana with more effective players while making huge profits, similar to what Napoli achieved in 2022-23 with the signings of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Kim min-Jae.

Incredibly, swapping the expensive duo of Lukaku and Onana (whose collective wage totalled $15.97M) for Thuram and Sommer ($11.8M) has produced a further $4.17M saving. Overall, Marotta’s economically astute decision-making has made the club over $58M solely from these two squad changes when factoring in the fee paid by the Red Devils for Onana. Moreover, Thuram’s value since has soared to over $24M (€22.5M).

Top-Five High Five

Positive change can materialize when clubs are ready to concede dressing room dynamics are no longer functioning. A surplus of big egos can be deafening, and while Lukaku’s departure was momentarily mourned by Inter and their fans, the addition of Thuram has shown that strikers don’t need an inflated sense of importance to transcend into a world-class footballer. According to Opta, Thuram is the only Serie A player, and one of only eight players in Europe’s top-five leagues (Big-5), to score at least five goals and assist at least five goals at the time of writing.

During the summer, many in the Italian media were sceptical as to whether Thuram, son of former Parma and Juventus defender Lilian, could adapt to life at one of Italy’s traditional big teams. While Lautaro Martinez has taken on the majority of the team’s scoring responsibilities, Thuram’s impact hasn’t wavered since his first goal in September. The 26-year-old has since netted against three of Serie A’s “big six” – Milan, Roma and now Napoli.

Magic Mike vs Super Sommer

Inter loyalists had been critical after Onana’s $54M (€50M) sale to Manchester United, but Marotta has converted criticism into praise following Sommer’s string of supreme performances which were again demonstrated at the Maradona, tipping over Eljif Elmas’ drive in the third minute, then reacting rapidly to prevent Kvaratskhelia in the 58th-minute with the scoreline at 0-1.

Across town, AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan has conceded 13 goals in 11 matches in Serie A. Until Sommer’s arrival, the 28-year-old was widely considered the top tier’s best goalkeeper, however, with only four clean sheets to his name in 2023-24, the Rossoneri shot-stopper has been dethroned for the first time in three seasons.

Meanwhile, Sommer’s ninth clean sheet was recognized with a deserved 7.5 points out of 10 rating by the Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport (quite high by their standards) while Inter fans overwhelmingly voted Sommer as their Man of the Match.

Napoli’s Anguish Might Further Help Inter

Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri refused to attend the post-match press conference after his side’s defeat to Inter, furious that his side was not awarded a penalty in the second half by referee Davide Massa. President Aurelio De Laurentiis went as far as to report the match official to the appropriate authorities, claiming that Napoli was affected by an array of poor officiating, including the failure to stop play when midfielder Stanislav Lobotka was allegedly fouled in the lead-up to Hakan Calhanoglu’s opening goal. If found guilty, Massa, who was rated with a 5/10 by various publications for his performance, is at risk of being demoted or suspended.

Reeling after another turbulent loss at home, Mazzarri and De Laurentiis will see this as an opportunity to justify Napoli’s fifth place in the Serie A standings. And with the Scudetto holders tallying just seven points in seven matches there, it’s not only about optics. There is a handful of days remaining before the away match against Juventus and the Partenopei can ill afford to waste energy on should-have-beens. Certainly, Inter won’t be thinking twice about the controversy on Sunday night, and, with Juve lurking in second place, could benefit if Napoli can transform their rage into goals in Turin.

Overcoming The Odds

This was Inter’s second Serie A win in Naples this century. Historically, Inter is the team against which Napoli has won the highest number of home games in Serie A, with the Nerazzurri winning only 19 of 78 matches. This 0-3 triumph was the first time since 1977 (the Beppe Chiapella days) that the Beneamata had won there by a three-goal margin. Moreover, the echoes from the summit of the Classifica have been felt continentally, with Inter being the team that’s won the most games (6) and conceded the fewest goals (2) away from home in Europe’s Big-5.

Inter boss Simone Inzaghi will undoubtedly be proud of this side, and quietly confident that his multitude of coaching methods can be adapted to the latter stages of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) come February.

In today’s inflated market, $7.36M is considered spare change for the world’s biggest clubs, yet, Sommer and Thuram have displayed they have what it takes to make a priceless contribution in what would be their first Champions League Final if Inter can mastermind their way to Wembley.