During the last couple of days, especially in the wake of Inter's fixture against Napoli in the Serie A, rumors started circulating that Napoli's talisman of the last few seasons - Marek Hamsik - could end up wearing our shirt next season.
Word on the street is that Hamsik is unhappy with life in Naples this season, since Rafa Benitez (imagine that) came to take the place of Walter Mazzarri at the helm of the Partenopei. Of course, probably having nothing smarter to write about, the media are always waiting for this kind of situations to spark a fire in fans' hearts.
Even though there are obvious reasons to believe that there is, indeed, interest from Inter to land the Slovak (he played the best football of his career under Mazzarri, who is now at Inter, and during this time he rose up to the very peak of Italian football; he has been having problems with his game and with injuries this season at Napoli and it is logical that he would consider leaving etc.), there are also some reasons that counter those arguments, and to me, the latter easily outweigh the former.
There are two sets of reasons that assure me Hamsik won't be an Inter player next season; some related to Napoli and others related to Inter.
Lets have a look at Napoli first. Napoli are sitting third on the table, seemingly surprised and very irritated by the fact that Roma are having a better season than they are, especially after all the investment they've made this season (investment which included Gonzalo Higuain, surely one of the best strikers in the world). Inter, on the other hand have appointed a new president, who is proving to be very ambitious and clear-minded, and who intends to bring Inter back to the top in the next few seasons.
After spending so much time in the shadows (practically until Mazzarri came along), Napoli surely want to keep up the good work they've been doing in the last few years, and remain in contention for the CL spots each season, or even reach as high as the Scudetto should they be a little lucky (since Juventus is high above everyone else in Italy at this moment). Selling one of their best players, no matter how big a dip in form he has undergone this season, to one of their biggest rivals will surely not help them. De Laurentiis will surely not be excited by the prospect of Hamsik wearing an Inter shirt and reuniting with Mazzarri, because he knows the potential of the Slovak far too well.
Even though chance inevitably survives that Inter could end up getting the midfielder for next season, this chance is minimal. Some say Inter's pursuit of Hernanes this winter had a very similar ring to it. Hernanes was Lazio's best player (he was also having a horrific season), and knowing Lazio's president, I don't think many people expected we would be able to land the Brazilian. After all, Hernanes is now wearing an Inter shirt, his arrival has had a rejuvenating effect on the team, and he hasn't even struck top form by a mile yet (I'm very enthusiastic about his potential progress this summer in the training camps with Mazzarri)! But, the situation with Napoli and Hamsik is actually very different. Lotito was forced to sell Hernanes because his contract was running out and because Lazio desperately needed to make some money off the transfer market. Napoli have taken in more cash in the last 2 years alone than Inter have in the last 5, more than anything by selling Cavani and Lavezzi to PSG. Napoli are a club that makes more money than Inter right now, they really won't be under pressure to sell Hamsik, because De Laurentiis has already stated that he is prepared to invest further to satisfy the expectations of Benitez. Least of all, Napoli won't sell to Inter, because after what Hamsik has done, he will surely attract the interest of many other clubs outside of Italy; clubs that are riched than Inter and can afford to splash more money on the Slovak, and clubs that won't be direct rivals to Napoli's yearly objectives in the Serie A.
The second set of reasons is related to Inter. No matter how bad a season he's had, Marek Hamsik is a high profile player and commands a hefty price and probably pretty big wage demands as well. Unless Napoli are stupid enough to perform a "Sneijder exile" on Hamsik, Inter will have to waste a huge chunk of their transfer funds for this summer on one player. Also, it has to be mentioned that if Hamsik arrives, someone would have to leave, as the midfield is already overcrowded with players that think they deserve a starting spot. Hernanes will surely not be benched, the fans would go crazy if they see even less of Kovacic, and it will not sit well with Guarin if he has to sit out a season on the bench after signing a new contract with the club (surely he was promised to remain in the starting lineup, as he seemed to be one of Mazzarri's favorites until the recent game against Livorno, after which he was rested, in my opinion not because Mazzarri thought he wasn't good enough, but because he was under pressure of having to play Kovacic and because the fans were getting pretty frustrated with Guarin's latest show of inconsistency). There is also Alvarez, who I would gladly sell if I were in Thohir's stead, seeing as how he is back to being pretty average on the field, and he reportedly wants a huge wage for it now too. A midfield of Hernanes/Kovacic/Guarin/Alvarez/Cambiasso/Hamsik and perhaps one of Nilton/Obi Mikel is surely too much to expect for next season (I do hope we sell Kuzmanovic, Mudingayi and the other unnecessary players, though). Thohir says that we have to balance the money books all the time. Though this can't mean we won't buy any players at all, it surely also means we can't afford to buy a high profile player for an area of the field that already has a couple of good players that want to play all the time, in a time when we are also after a striker and perhaps a defender and wing back as well.
So, bottom line:
* Napoli aren't under pressure to sell Hamsik, as the club is making lots of money lately, constantly qualifying for the CL
* Even if Benitez doesn't like Hamsik, De Laurentiis won't be dumb enough to let Hamsik reunite with Mazzarri at Inter, as he knows the player's potential
* Inter can't afford a player like Hamsik at a time when they have other positions in greater need of coverage, as the team is not complete yet
* Even if they decided upon splashing most of their transfer funds for this season on Hamsik, they would have to sell one of their current midfielders, and also bench someone who deserves to start (whether it's Kovacic or Guarin, doesn't matter), which can't be good for the team chemistry
As good as the thought sounds, seeing Hamsik at Inter is just a dream right now, and I think it won't turn into anything more, at least not this summer. The reasons for it are more than obvious.
Word on the street is that Hamsik is unhappy with life in Naples this season, since Rafa Benitez (imagine that) came to take the place of Walter Mazzarri at the helm of the Partenopei. Of course, probably having nothing smarter to write about, the media are always waiting for this kind of situations to spark a fire in fans' hearts.
Even though there are obvious reasons to believe that there is, indeed, interest from Inter to land the Slovak (he played the best football of his career under Mazzarri, who is now at Inter, and during this time he rose up to the very peak of Italian football; he has been having problems with his game and with injuries this season at Napoli and it is logical that he would consider leaving etc.), there are also some reasons that counter those arguments, and to me, the latter easily outweigh the former.
There are two sets of reasons that assure me Hamsik won't be an Inter player next season; some related to Napoli and others related to Inter.
Lets have a look at Napoli first. Napoli are sitting third on the table, seemingly surprised and very irritated by the fact that Roma are having a better season than they are, especially after all the investment they've made this season (investment which included Gonzalo Higuain, surely one of the best strikers in the world). Inter, on the other hand have appointed a new president, who is proving to be very ambitious and clear-minded, and who intends to bring Inter back to the top in the next few seasons.
After spending so much time in the shadows (practically until Mazzarri came along), Napoli surely want to keep up the good work they've been doing in the last few years, and remain in contention for the CL spots each season, or even reach as high as the Scudetto should they be a little lucky (since Juventus is high above everyone else in Italy at this moment). Selling one of their best players, no matter how big a dip in form he has undergone this season, to one of their biggest rivals will surely not help them. De Laurentiis will surely not be excited by the prospect of Hamsik wearing an Inter shirt and reuniting with Mazzarri, because he knows the potential of the Slovak far too well.
Even though chance inevitably survives that Inter could end up getting the midfielder for next season, this chance is minimal. Some say Inter's pursuit of Hernanes this winter had a very similar ring to it. Hernanes was Lazio's best player (he was also having a horrific season), and knowing Lazio's president, I don't think many people expected we would be able to land the Brazilian. After all, Hernanes is now wearing an Inter shirt, his arrival has had a rejuvenating effect on the team, and he hasn't even struck top form by a mile yet (I'm very enthusiastic about his potential progress this summer in the training camps with Mazzarri)! But, the situation with Napoli and Hamsik is actually very different. Lotito was forced to sell Hernanes because his contract was running out and because Lazio desperately needed to make some money off the transfer market. Napoli have taken in more cash in the last 2 years alone than Inter have in the last 5, more than anything by selling Cavani and Lavezzi to PSG. Napoli are a club that makes more money than Inter right now, they really won't be under pressure to sell Hamsik, because De Laurentiis has already stated that he is prepared to invest further to satisfy the expectations of Benitez. Least of all, Napoli won't sell to Inter, because after what Hamsik has done, he will surely attract the interest of many other clubs outside of Italy; clubs that are riched than Inter and can afford to splash more money on the Slovak, and clubs that won't be direct rivals to Napoli's yearly objectives in the Serie A.
The second set of reasons is related to Inter. No matter how bad a season he's had, Marek Hamsik is a high profile player and commands a hefty price and probably pretty big wage demands as well. Unless Napoli are stupid enough to perform a "Sneijder exile" on Hamsik, Inter will have to waste a huge chunk of their transfer funds for this summer on one player. Also, it has to be mentioned that if Hamsik arrives, someone would have to leave, as the midfield is already overcrowded with players that think they deserve a starting spot. Hernanes will surely not be benched, the fans would go crazy if they see even less of Kovacic, and it will not sit well with Guarin if he has to sit out a season on the bench after signing a new contract with the club (surely he was promised to remain in the starting lineup, as he seemed to be one of Mazzarri's favorites until the recent game against Livorno, after which he was rested, in my opinion not because Mazzarri thought he wasn't good enough, but because he was under pressure of having to play Kovacic and because the fans were getting pretty frustrated with Guarin's latest show of inconsistency). There is also Alvarez, who I would gladly sell if I were in Thohir's stead, seeing as how he is back to being pretty average on the field, and he reportedly wants a huge wage for it now too. A midfield of Hernanes/Kovacic/Guarin/Alvarez/Cambiasso/Hamsik and perhaps one of Nilton/Obi Mikel is surely too much to expect for next season (I do hope we sell Kuzmanovic, Mudingayi and the other unnecessary players, though). Thohir says that we have to balance the money books all the time. Though this can't mean we won't buy any players at all, it surely also means we can't afford to buy a high profile player for an area of the field that already has a couple of good players that want to play all the time, in a time when we are also after a striker and perhaps a defender and wing back as well.
So, bottom line:
* Napoli aren't under pressure to sell Hamsik, as the club is making lots of money lately, constantly qualifying for the CL
* Even if Benitez doesn't like Hamsik, De Laurentiis won't be dumb enough to let Hamsik reunite with Mazzarri at Inter, as he knows the player's potential
* Inter can't afford a player like Hamsik at a time when they have other positions in greater need of coverage, as the team is not complete yet
* Even if they decided upon splashing most of their transfer funds for this season on Hamsik, they would have to sell one of their current midfielders, and also bench someone who deserves to start (whether it's Kovacic or Guarin, doesn't matter), which can't be good for the team chemistry
As good as the thought sounds, seeing Hamsik at Inter is just a dream right now, and I think it won't turn into anything more, at least not this summer. The reasons for it are more than obvious.
