Francesco Acerbi is 36 years old, with a mischievous calf and thoughts that continue to crowd in: being acquitted of the accusation of racism against Juan Jesus has lifted his spirits, but has not moved the focus towards him. In just over ten days everything has really changed around him, even “his” Inter is different after all. In the days of the storm, the Nerazzurri club has, in fact, reinforced a belief it already had: in the future it would also be necessary to innovate in defense, and precisely in the role of “Ace”. Inzaghi’s loyal centre-back has been decisive in recent years, but it is fair to ask whether he can guarantee the same reliability in the future, also from a psychophysical point of view after the case that involved him. The centre-back will be a starter at San Siro against Empoli on Monday at Easter Monday, but in the long term he remains in the balance: it will be more difficult to maintain this same status in the 2024-25 team. In fact, at the Nerazzurri, the great exploration of the best profiles to place in the back has begun. And given that spending possibilities remain limited, we always start from zero parameters. One, interestingly, is watched at a distance by Milan even if a month ago he contributed to throwing a bucket of ice water on Simone and his boys: Mario Hermoso, pillar of Colho’s defense fresh from reaching the Champions League quarter-finals, is finding a certain difficulty in getting his contract renewed by Atletico. The more time passes, the more the possibility that he gets free becomes an opportunity: this 28-year-old Spaniard already has a lot of experience, but above all a high specialization in three-man defence. Exactly like Acerbi, with whom he also shares the foot: he is a left-footed player, rather refined by the standards of Cholo’s rearguard. In any case, the Nerazzurri net is ready to be thrown into the sea and the next few weeks will tell whether a new central defender will be recruited: the extreme dream of a loan from the Korean Kim, unhappy in Monaco, or the more real one of arriving at an old ball like the Greek n Konstantinos Mavropanos, today at West Ham, resist in the background, but the possibility of saving is always a priority in these lean times.
the post acquittal
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Hermoso defeated Acerbi on the Metropolitano lawn, on the night when Inter started to complicate their lives. Then came Napoli and the poisonous duel with Juan Jesus: no evidence for the judges, who decided on acquittal, but still conflicting versions of the two protagonists. If the fans of the other teams rebelled against the sentence, even in part of the varied Inter world, many continue to not be completely satisfied: they would have been spared even the slightest association with the word “racism”. However, the Nerazzurri defender has resumed normal training in Appiano, but thanks to the support of the sporting justice system. In short, he simply intends to move on, but perhaps the one who wants to turn the page more than anyone else is Inter.
Nerazzurri appeal
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The club kept a low profile and did not appreciate, on the contrary, the player’s desire to expose himself in the midst of the storm (and even after…). The management of the crisis up until the sentence did not, however, prevent the company from making broader reflections which generally touched on the role that Acerbi occupies today. In these cases, it is almost obvious to say, the market is almost always a natural landing place. In defending the future, it will therefore be necessary to rejuvenate and raise the bar as well: he will not yet have received a renewal offer in Madrid, but Hermoso has been attending the Champions League continuously since 2019. After a few years on the roller coaster, he has definitively raised the level precisely in this season that could be the last in his homeland. There is no shortage of admirers to start a new story as a free transfer, especially in the Premier League, but the Nerazzurri proposal will be listened to with great interest: Inter’s appeal has grown in recent times and, being a free agent, there would be room for one salary according to requests (around 5 million per season). Zhang’s managers see him as both central and left arm and the decision with which they move will be decisive in this match. In their thoughts, however, Acerbi’s identity card weighs heavily. And also the two months that the defender spent out of the season due to his right calf.
