Chelsea, Inter Milan miss out on Boca Juniors' Jonathan Calleri, at least for now

One of the hottest rumors of November was the possibility of Jonathan Calleri, leading goalscorer of the newly crowned Champions of Argentina, Boca Juniors, making the big move across the pond to Europe.  (November's a bit of a meagre month for rumors.)

Chelsea were tenuously linked, as were Inter Milan.  Eventually, the Italians seemed to nudge ahead in the race, and looked ready to confirm capture of the 22-year-old by mid-December.  But then, nothing happened.  Inter seemed to be playing hard-ball, perhaps buoyed by their better than expected start to the league campaign.  Given the restrictions placed on buying non-EU players in Serie A (it's a semi-convoluted, exploitable system of quotas), Inter were probably in no hurry to get involved at unfavorable terms.

And so, with the Italians dragging their feet and Chelsea possibly not truly involved or interested, even, Calleri has apparently opted for a short-term, temporary solution.

"There is a verbal agreement [with São Paulo] for six months. It is not yet signed. We should finish everything by tomorrow (Wednesday)."

-Guillermo Calleri, father; source: ESPN Brasil

Technically, this looks to be a loan, with a permanent move expected in the summer.  The report claims that the loan could be extended if São Paulo advance far enough in the Copa Libertadores, but SPFC's head coach Edgardo Bauza seems to be under the impression that Calleri will sign with an unnamed Italian team in the summer regardless.  Which is probably where Internazionale come back into the picture, but we'll see.  There's no mention of Chelsea anymore anywhere, so it's probably safe to say that we're done with this potential transfer.