Following impressive stints at the San Siro for the pair, tying down the Serb and the Brazilian on a permanent basis should be high on Roberto Mancini’s agenda.
During both the highs and the lows for Inter Milan this season, Adem Ljajic and Alex Telles have stood out and shown their worth to the San Siro faithful.
When starting together, the pair have made that Nerazzurri left flank the most dangerous and productive area of the pitch at times, with Ljajic’s flair and skill combined with Telles’s pace and overlapping runs a recipe for manufacturing goal scoring opportunities.
The likes of Marcelo Brozovic, Stevan Jovetic, João Miranda, and more recently Eder have come into the squad on loan deals that have been made (or soon to be, in Eder’s case) permanent already due to satisfying certain criteria such as appearances made. However, the deals involving Ljajic and Telles require a certain fee to be dished out to their respective clubs in order to ensure their status as Inter Milan players going into 2016-17 and beyond.
Mancini and Inter have utilised the loan system to great effect due to their recent minor breaches of Financial Fair Play regulations, though purchasing Ljajic and Telles from AS Roma and Galatasaray respectively is a must for the Italian manager and here is why.
Apart from Samir Handanovic, and arguably Miranda and Jeison Murillo at centre-back, Ljajic has been Inter’s best player this season and certainly their most dangerous player. The 48 chances the former Fiorentina man has created in the league is by far the best in the whole Inter squad, with Telles’s 25 the next best. This stat is made even more impressive when considering the fact that the 24-year-old is, strangely enough, not a regular starter in the side. In fact, when Ljajic has started in the league, Mancini’s men have been on the losing side just three times, with two of those three coming against Napoli and Sassuolo, where Ljajic was the best man on the pitch and the Nerazzurri were very unfortunate to come away with nothing.
Coming in off the left wing, the Roma loanee shows a certain drive and intent that has rarely been seen this season from Inter Milan, as his direct play and dangerous dribbling encourages others around him to get forward and make space. It is simple enough – when Ljajic plays, Mancini’s side shows more ambition.
This may be one of the reasons Inter made their way so deep into the Coppa Italia: Ljajic has been a regular in the Cup this campaign.
The Serb has showcased some of his best displays there this season and he was a key figure in aiding his side’s three goal comeback in the second leg of the Semi-Final against Juventus.
The brilliant solo goal Ljajic scored against struggling Palermo over the weekend at the San Siro is just a taste of what the winger can do on a regular basis if given more of a chance by Mancini, and not only for the rest of this season will he be fundamental in Inter’s late hopeful charge towards a Champions League berth, but next season as well if Inter rightly decide to hang onto him.
Almost as important than Ljajic in his own way, though, is Brazilian left-back Telles, whose task is not only to defend but also to support the man playing in front of him on the left flank, which he does to great effect.
The former Grêmio man has participated on a more frequent basis than the Serb, and has held down his place on the left side of Mancini’s four-man defence. Solid at the back and fantastic going forward, the attacking full-back has been Inter’s next chief creator of chances after Ljajic, as previously mentioned with 25, and is one of the men assigned with the task of taking set-pieces, another thing he does so well.
Aside from the 23-year-old’s obvious ability, Telles’s importance to the team mainly stems from the fact that he is the best player in his position for this Inter Milan side, with the next best options coming in the form of Juan Jesus – a centre-back – and the much maligned Yuto Nagatomo and Danilo D’Ambrosio. As well as that, should Inter decide not to hold onto the Brazilian at the end of the season, they are unlikely to find a better alternative in the transfer market.
Despite being on the receiving end of minor injuries and suspensions throughout the course of the campaign, Telles still manages to win his place back in the side, which undoubtedly is a source of encouragement for Interisti, and a great show of faith from his Italian manager.
The fees that would potentially be distributed for the pair – €11 million for Ljajic and €8.5 million for Telles – are well worth the investment, and Mancini would be blind not to recognise this as he would be inhibiting his chances of getting the most out of this Inter Milan squad in 2016-17, assuming he is still at the helm.
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