The January transfer window brought trouble to Inter, Roma and Fiorentina who must deal with Milan Skriniar, Nicolò Zaniolo and Sofyan Amrabat in the second part of the season after seeing their players involved in negotiations with other clubs.
The three cases are different from each other, but bring perhaps equal trouble to the Serie A trio who are in the race for a European spot this term.
Roma and Inter hope to get a Champions League placement, while Fiorentina are five points below a Conference League spot, a target they fulfilled last season.
The Tuscans received a late offer from Barcelona for Amrabat on the deadline day, with the Catalans willing to get the midfielder on loan with an option to buy. However, Fiorentina didn’t want to sell, especially on Barcelona’s terms, while the player pushed to move to Camp Nou.
He skipped training on Tuesday and was not included in the squad for Wednesday’s Coppa Italia game with Torino. The 27-year-old also posted a cryptic message on Instagram, suggesting he wanted to leave the Stadio Franchi.
On the other hand, Roma have been dealing with the Zaniolo saga for more than a week. The player requested to leave less than two weeks ago, receiving offers from Milan and Bournemouth. The Rossoneri failed to reach an agreement with Roma who, in turn, accepted the offer from the Premier League club, worth €30m plus add-ons.
Zaniolo initially refused to join the Premier League strugglers, but reportedly changed his mind on Monday night, accepting to fly to England for his medical. At that point, Bournemouth had already signed Hamed Traore from Sassuolo for a similar fee, so they refused to finalise the deal with Zaniolo.
The Italy international has been frozen out of Roma and is not expected to play for the Giallorossi again. The price tag for the summer window remains the same, circa €30-35m including add-ons. José Mourinho has already dropped Zaniolo for games against Spezia and Napoli and has confirmed the striker is no longer part of the project.
Skriniar’s contract saga is an even longer story, which started last summer when PSG had agreed to personal terms with the Slovakia international. The defender’s contract with Inter expires in the summer, but the Nerazzurri refused to sell for less than €70m.
Nevertheless, they couldn’t match the offer made by the Ligue 1 giants during contract negotiations with the 27-year-old who refused to extend with the Serie A giants, confirming his agreement with PSG last week.
The Slovakia international was sent off in Inter’s 1-0 loss against Empoli two weeks ago, during which his agent said live on TV that his client would not sign a new contract.
Skriniar was dropped for a Coppa Italia match against Atalanta on Wednesday and although he is expected not to get the same treatment as Zaniolo at Roma, his focus in the second part of the season remains a matter of concern for fans.
Marotta said before the Coppa game with Atalanta on Tuesday that he expects the same commitment from the ex-Samp man in the final six months of his contract. Skriniar is a regular starter under Simone Inzaghi and it’s been somehow difficult to replace him this season with either Danilo D’Ambrosio or Matteo Darmian adapted in a three-man defence.
Fiorentina have a similar issue with Amrabat, who is a key player for Vincenzo Italiano, although his impact was perhaps higher for Morocco at the World Cup than it is currently for Fiorentina.
Still, having a player who openly asked to leave, failing to show up for training, is not ideal looking into the second part of the campaign. At the same time, playing in front of the passionate Franchi crowd may be extremely challenging for the Morocco international in the second part of the campaign. His contract in Florence expires in June 2024, but Fiorentina have an option to extend his stay by one more season.
On the other hand, Mourinho has already been dealing with Zaniolo’s absence at Roma this season, first due to injuries and then because of transfers. Lorenzo Pellegrini has been played in a more advanced position, while Paulo Dybala and Tammy Abraham have started the year strong contributing to four goals each in 2023.
Even if the Giallorossi may seem less affected than Inter and Fiorentina from a tactical perspective, Mourinho will still have the task of avoiding controversy and tension inside the dressing room. It’s safe to say that the January transfer window has brought more problems than benefits to the Serie A trio.