Marcos Alonso has been once again linked with a return to Italy this summer, but once again, those rumors appear to be little more than the customary churn of the calciomercato.
Inter Milan have again been at the forefront of these stories, but according to Gazzetta dello Sport, Alonso’s been once again priced out of their budget. Time is a flat circle, after all.
There was a variation of this were Alonso would be offered as some sort of makeweight for Achraf Hakimi, but the Inter right back was only ever going to go to PSG — which he now has, officially.
Inter needed the Hakimi money to balance the books, so their budget for reinforcing the wing-back position remains just €10m, which is apparently below our valuation of Alonso (see also: Emerson). They may still like him, but as Corriere dello Sport (via Sempre Inter) report, Chelsea are happy to hold on to Alonso for next season as well, and he himself isn’t too keen on a paycut either with two years still left on his contract.
Inter olé, mercato alla spagnola: all-in su Bellerin, piace Alonso https://t.co/IB1rQ9dU4M
— La Gazzetta dello Sport (@Gazzetta_it) July 2, 2021
Alonso is also said to be happy with the situation at Chelsea in general (despite admitting to frustrations in his post-season interview with Chelsea TV), and keeping him as the backup to Ben Chilwell certainly makes sense at this point. Chelsea were briefly linked with Leonardo Spinazzola, before he ruptured his Achilles at the Euros, likely ruling him out for practically all of next season.
If Alonso stays, it becomes even more imperative to offload Emerson Palmieri. However, according to Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sempre Inter), AS Roma have backed away, unable to meet our €25m asking price, while a similar situation may be playing out with Napoli, despite their head coach’s hints.
Meanwhile, Chelsea’s attempts to offload Davide Zappacosta may be facing similar difficulties. According to Sky Sport Italia (via Football Italia), we might have to settle for another loan for the 29-year-old, taking advantage of our option to extend his contract to 2023 and hope for an easier market next summer.