The hot topic among Italian media is currently discussing why Inter Milan lost two excellent youth players, Esposito and young Stankovic.
"La Gazzetta dello Sport" asked: Looking at the current situation of Seba, does Inter regret it?
Currently, Seba-Esposito is ranked 5th in the Serie A top scorer list and is also the only U23 player in the top 12 of the Serie A top scorer list.
The Italian media stated that watching Seba come off the bench to score against Inter, and seeing that his individual goals are more than the combined total of three Inter substitutes, Taremi, Correa, and Arnautovic, does the Nerazzurri regret selling him last summer for a mere 5 million euros with a buyout clause and a 20% second transfer share? Should Ausilio reflect on why he did not include a buyback clause?
Here, I sincerely apologize. At the end of December, I quoted a statement from an Italian journalist on YouTube, introducing that there might be a buyback clause in Seba's loan contract. However, it has now been confirmed by the Empoli management that there is no such clause, which means that as long as Empoli activates Seba's buyout at the end of the season (highly likely), the player's ownership will have nothing to do with Inter anymore.
At the same time, famous journalist Biaxin was talking about another star, Philip Stankovic.
So far this season, young Stankovic has faced 78 shots on target and made 56 saves, with a save success rate of 76.9%, ranking second among all Serie A goalkeepers, only behind Lai (78.7%).
Such an excellent goalkeeper was sold by Inter for just 2 million euros, without a buyback clause, only a 50% share of the second transfer.
Biaxin comforted Inter fans: "Theoretically, Inter does not have a buyback clause for Philip, and he is no longer an Inter player. But considering the excellent relationship between him and Inter, I believe that his destiny will still intersect with Inter in the future."
While the Italian media is discussing the two Inter-trained new stars who are currently performing at a Serie A level, they are also questioning Maltta and Ausilio.
With such two outstanding new stars, were they sold for a mere 6 million? Then spend 15 million to buy Josep Martinez? Why didn't you keep the buyback clause when you sold them? Who in the Inter uniform group should be responsible for such a mistake?
The criticism continues.
On the podcast, some famous journalists pointed out: The reason why Inter did not retain the buyback clauses for these two new stars is "half and half".
Half of the reason is that the opposing teams are unwilling. If Inter insists on adding a buyback clause, it may lead to a failed transaction.
The other half of the reason is that Inter's management is not optimistic about the subsequent development of these two players and did not insist on it to the end.
But one of their views, I agree very much: We cannot directly think that if Seba and Little Stan perform well in weak teams, they can also grow smoothly if they stay at Inter. Because the situation and pressure of small teams are completely different from big teams, and the public opinion environment of Inter is even worse than that of ordinary big teams.
For example: Seba's aerial duels.
This season, Seba scored 8 goals, with a high proportion of header goals, receiving many praises.
However, in reality, Seba's aerial duel success rate in Serie A is only 35%. Many of his aerial duel failures occurred during defensive set pieces. You can imagine that if Seba stayed at Inter as a rotational forward, and in a certain game, he came off the bench but made a mistake in an aerial duel during a set piece, leading to the team conceding points... What would await him then?
In small teams, even if Seba makes a few mistakes, he can still continue to play, and as long as he scores, he can "cover up a hundred ugliness with one handsome move".
But if at Inter, the new star's playing time is already limited. Coupled with the fact that the Inter public opinion circle always has a hard time with young people, like Bellanova being booed by fans at home until he loses confidence, or like Aslani being scolded to the point of deleting his social media account... When public opinion forms a storm, whether the player collapses or the coach dares not let him play again, it will put young people in great difficulty.
Therefore, it has always been said that the blame for Inter's failure to cultivate new stars should not only be borne by the manager. If the team wants to truly own "Inter Saka", "Inter Amal", or take a step back, own "Inter Palmer", "Inter Musiala", public opinion should gradually change its fixed thinking.
The matter of Seba and Little Stan has been written in black and white, and there is no place to buy regrets. It is a pity that Inter has lost two outstanding young players, but if we ignore such lessons, it would be even more regrettable.
"La Gazzetta dello Sport" pointed out that Inter's regret over losing Seba-Esposito may help Inter pour more patience, confidence, and determination to cultivate another talented new star - Pio Esposito.
In this round, after Pio scored twice, he is now ranked first in the Serie B top scorer list.
At the end of the season, Inter will arrange Pio's future.
There are only three ways: either sell, or rent to a higher platform, or stay as a substitute forward.
Regardless of which choice is made, the team's reporters believe that Inter will remember the lesson of Seba and avoid repeating the same mistakes on Pio. If he is loaned out, they will insist on adding a buyback clause; if he stays to play, they will try to protect the new star from the public opinion storm.
In today's European football, even rich clubs like Arsenal and Chelsea, and Barcelona, who spend money like dirt, are also working hard to promote and trust young players.
Inter's financial and purchasing power are far inferior to the above-mentioned teams, and they should work harder to explore this path. Therefore, making mistakes is not terrible. If this can help correct and learn from mistakes, it can also be considered to have positive significance.