Nine months ago, when Robin Gosens was on the verge of sealing a £21 million move from Atalanta to Inter Milan, the German international’s agent needed just three words to explain why his client had turned down Newcastle United in favour of the reigning Serie A champions.
“Because it’s Inter,” said a bullish Paolo Busardo.
The implication being, of course, that despite all the money on offer at St James’ Park, despite the prospect of a front-line role in one of football’s most intriguing and ambitious projects, the chance to fly down the flanks at San Siro was one Gosens could not turn down.
Inter were, after all, the champions of Italy. Newcastle, meanwhile, were glancing nervously over their shoulders; a Premier League relegation battle very much on the cards at the time.
“That’s true. (The interest from Newcastle) was real,” Gosens told Sky Italia. “And the negotiations went far. Just without the fact that I said yes.
“And then came Inter, who wanted to finalise everything relatively quickly. Accordingly, the transfer took place within 48 hours.”
Newcastle United failed to sign Inter Milan’s Robin Gosens
Gosens to Inter, on paper anyway, felt like a transfer that just couldn’t fail. A proven Serie A operator joining the best club in the country; a top-class left-wing back joining a club who needed a top-class left-wing back. That Gosens looks certain to be on the move again just 12 months later should serve as a reminder that, in this most fickle of games, even the most sound logic can end up looking like precisely the opposite.
Gosens, in nine months, has started just one Serie A match.
“In January, he will leave. Or so I’ve heard,” says Inter legend Walter Zenga. “I heard that he will probably return to Germany.”
A Bayer Leverkusen now under the stewardship of one Xabi Alonso appear to be the most likely destination as things stand. Nerazzuri boss Simone Inzaghi, Gazzetta dello Sport say, has next to no confidence in Gosens with Federico Dimarco now firmly established as Inter’s – and Italy’s – first choice left-wing back.
Gosens’ agent pulled no punches when asked why his client had chosen Inter over Newcastle in January. One suspects that he’d be similarly straightforward if questioned about the flying full-back’s future after just 10 months at San Siro.
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