Argentina U20 Star A Symbol Of “Youth Revolution” At Inter Milan Under Oaktree Capital

The arrival of defender Tomas Palacios is a symbol of the “youth revolution” at Inter Milan under Oaktree Capital’s ownership.

This is the view in today’s print edition of Turin-based newspaper Tuttosport, via FCInterNews.

The first summer with Oaktree Capital in charge of Inter has not been a busy one in the transfer market.

The Nerazzurri’s priority has been to keep last season’s team together rather than make big changes.

Inter build a dominant side in Serie A under previous owners Suning. And Oaktree have shown little interest in immediately dismantling it.

However, there have been three transfers in total. And there is about to be a fourth.

Inter are right on the verge of signing 21-year-old defender Tomas Palacios.

And in the view of Tuttosport, the choice to sign Palacios is a clear signal of Oaktree’s intentions at Inter.

Tomas Palacios Emblematic Of Oaktree “Youth Revolution” At Inter Milan

The first two signings that Inter made this summer were both free transfer.

The Nerazzurri had in fact worked out deals to sign Mehdi Taremi and Piotr Zielinski well before Oaktree took over.

These two deals are virtually Inter’s transfer strategy under Suning in microcosm.

The Nerazzurri have not been able to spend big fees. So they have had to focus on signing players who can improve their squad on free transfers.

That will not be the case to the same degree under Oaktree, although it is not as though the new owners will spend massively.

But Tuttosport suggest that Oaktree may not have even greenlit the deals for Taremi and Zielinski.

The US fund have shown great reluctance to sign players over the age of thirty, even if they can add quality and depth to the squad in the short term.

The first two signings that Oaktree have actually been at the helm for have been evidence of this.

First, Inter signed goalkeeper Josep Martinez from Genoa.

The Spaniard will not likely take over the starting shirt from Yann Sommer this season. But at 26 years of age, Inter and Oaktree hope that he can do so over the next couple seasons.

And the strategy is even clearer with Palacios.

Inter had considered possible stopgap signings in defense like Ricardo Rodriguez and Mario Hermoso. Both would have been available on free transfers.

But Oaktree were insistent. They wanted Inter’s search to orient around younger profiles.

And so Inter are instead investing in a player they hope can be a part of their future in the form of Palacios.