As Sebastiano Esposito and Inter struggle to agree on a new contract, the striker risks becoming another that got away for the Nerazzurri.
Esposito is contracted to Inter until 2022, but negotiations for a new deal are proving difficult, alerting the likes of Atalanta and Fiorentina.
His reported demands of at least €1m a season may seem excessive, but the Nerazzurri will be wary of letting their most promising youth product in years flourish elsewhere.
As Sebastiano Esposito and Inter struggle to agree on a new contract, the striker risks becoming another that got away for the Nerazzurri.
Esposito is contracted to Inter until 2022, but negotiations for a new deal are proving difficult, alerting the likes of Atalanta and Fiorentina.
His reported demands of at least €1m a season may seem excessive, but the Nerazzurri will be wary of letting their most promising youth product in years flourish elsewhere.
Despite the 17-year-old’s undoubted potential, there were four better players discarded by the Beneamata who went on to take football by storm.
1. Philippe Coutinho
Inter paid €4m to sign Coutinho from Brazilian side Vasco da Gama in the summer of 2008, with President Massimo Moratti declaring him the ‘future’.
He didn’t join up with the Nerazzurri until two years later but, even with the gradual break up of their Treble-winning team, he failed to convince and was sold to Liverpool in January 2013 for €13m.
Years later, the attacker became the world’s second-most expensive player when he moved to Barcelona for a fee rising to €160m.
2. Nicolo Zaniolo
Just seven goalless Serie B appearances for Virtus Entella were enough for Inter to commit to paying €3.5m for Zaniolo in the summer of 2017.
He enjoyed instant success with their Under-19 team, running out top scorer with 13 goals in 2017-18 and winning the Primavera title, before he was sent to Roma in part exchange for Radja Nainggolan.
Whereas Nainggolan has since returned to Cagliari, the 20-year-old has become a star for club and country, with an army of top teams tracking him. If it’s any consolation, the Nerazzurri are entitled to 15 percent of any resale.
3. Leonardo Bonucci
Bonucci has become a mainstay for Juventus since his arrival from Bari in 2010, barring a misstep at Milan, which makes it easy to forget he was once an Inter player.
The defender initially joined the Beneamata on loan from Viterbese in 2005 before moving outright a year later but played just four times for their first team, despite lifting a Primavera title at the end of his second season.
Since signing for Juve and re-signing for them, he has won seven Scudetti and reached two Champions League Finals. Inter, on the other hand, can only point to a Coppa Italia.
4. Andrea Pirlo
Saving the best for last, Inter preferred to cash in on Pirlo back in the summer of 2001, selling him to arch-rivals Milan for €17m.
The midfielder managed just 40 appearances and one assist for the Nerazzurri without any silverware between 1998 and 2001, compared to the 401 games, 41 goals and 71 assists for Milan with two Scudetti and two Champions Leagues.
He went on to become Italy’s metronome in the middle of the park, winning the World Cup in 2006, before adding four more Serie A titles as a Juventus player.