Revealed – Inter Milan New Wage – Fee Tradeoff Strategy Under Oaktree

The move for Tomas Palacios over Mario Hermoso shows how Inter Milan are trading off wage spending for transfer fee spending.

This is the view in today’s print edition of Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, via FCInter1908.

Inter decided to sign defender Tomas Palacios over the summer.

The Nerazzurri brought the 21-year-old from Independiente Rivadivia in the Argentine top flight.

And despite the fact that Palacios had not proven himself outside of his home country, and is just 21 years of age, Inter spent a significant fee to sign him.

The total fee could reportedly rise as high as €11 million.

That is hardly just a small gamble on a young player. Inter showed a willingness to really commit to the deal financially.

Move For Palacios Over Hermoso Reveals Inter Spending Strategy

Another player Inter had reportedly pursued during the summer was Mario Hermoso.

The Spaniard’s contract with Atletico Madrid had expired. Therefore, he would have been available on a free transfer.

In some ways, it is very unlike the Inter of recent years to outlay a significant fee on an unproven youngster.

But it is even more strange to see the Nerazzurri pass up the chance to sign a well-established player without a transfer fee.

That is the strategy that has guided moves for players like Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Piotr ZIelinski.

However, the wages that Hermoso would have costed Inter would still have been very high.

Under Oaktree Capital, the Nerazzurri’s strategy centres around keeping the wage bill in check – even if it means spending a lot more on transfer fees.