Inter: Zhang in Milan on Thursday, here is his agenda

Tomorrow (Thursday) Steven Zhang will land in Milan. Exempted for work reasons from the quarantine to which those arriving from China must undergo, on Friday he will go up to Appiano to greet the team leaving for the first championship match point. The president of Inter, however, will not fly to Crotone on Saturday. Also because the possible certainty of the title passes not only from the three points in Calabria, but also from the failure of Atalanta on Sunday at Sassuolo.

Only the signature is missing

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After celebrating a title that makes him doubly proud also because it will be the first Scudetto of a non-Italian property, Zhang will then have to face a series of delicate issues on which the future of the company depends. The fundamental issue is obviously the financial one, on which the others depend in cascade. Steven arrives in Milan to close the 250-300 million loan financed by the two funds still in the running: Oaktree and Bain Capital. It was thought of an alliance, but yesterday Bain presented a unique offer that should allow it to win. However, the respective law firms have already exchanged the draft contracts, only some formalities are needed and then the signatures. Suning will pledge the shares that it would later redeem from LionRock (minority shareholder at 31.05%, who took over from Thohir in January 2019). The American fund therefore initially acts only as a lender, but if the Zhangs did not repay the debt it would join Inter. After very difficult months, Suning has therefore found a financial way to move forward.

Sponsor and stadium

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Not just in terms of the future scenario are also the nodes linked to the new stadium and the main sponsor. After yesterday the mayor of Milan Sala reiterated that he expects to have certainties on the ownership of Inter and Milan also for the next three years. Zhang has an interest in confronting Sala to unblock the impasse, but it should not be excluded that the real problem is political, with the mayor who would prefer not to expose himself before the municipal elections postponed to next October due to Covid. As for the sponsor, the certainty is that after more than twenty years on the jerseys for next season there will be no more Pirelli (which could come out entirely, even if there was talk of another partnership in a minor tone). Pre-pandemic Inter were aiming for an agreement that guaranteed 30 million per season, against 11 (plus bonuses) of the old sponsor. There are two negotiations open, one of which with a big Chinese name, which, however, would have the same problems as Suning in exporting capital abroad. However, it should close, but not in the very short term, for 20-25 million per season.

Champions ambition

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And here we are on the sports level, the one that interests the fans most. But that also directly affects Conte, Marotta and Ausilio, all of which expire in 2022. It is in fact necessary to fix the sports budget to plan the market. Suning has an ambitious project, but – despite the freezing of the financial fairplay – does not want to increase the budget red, currently on 130 million. For the reinforcements that allow us to play as protagonists also the Champions League will therefore need a preparatory plan at the exit, trying not to sacrifice any big players and to lower the amount of wages by focusing on young people of value. The treasure will be accumulated between non-essential players (some with the transfer market, others with very heavy salaries) and those who are currently on loan, such as Dalbert, Nainggolan, Lanzaro, Joao Mario and Gravillon. Zhang obviously will also have to give the go ahead for the signing of the new contracts of Bastoni and Lautaro, with whom the agreement has been found for months.

Long-term scenario

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Given the meat in the fire, the renewal of Conte, Marotta and Ausilio is not considered a priority and urgent issue to date. It is therefore likely that the three will start the next season that is due to expire, with the possible extension to be set during the current season. Having clarified that a meeting between Steven, the coach and the transfer men remains essential as soon as the Scudetto is won, from the management of these situations, however, one could guess a more long-term scenario. Because no future hypothesis can be discarded. In fact, expiring with the technical staff and part of the management would suggest that the property prefers to keep its hands free also in view of a possible future sale, with the buyer who could choose his own men.