The final days of a transfer window are often a whirlwind of rumors, offers, and last-minute decisions.
For Newcastle United, the summer window included a reported attempt to bring Inter Milan midfielder Davide Frattesi to St. James’ Park.
It was a move that made sense for a club looking to add depth and quality to its engine room. However, the approach was turned down.
At the time, the message from Italy was clear: Inter Milan had plans for Frattesi and saw him as part of their future, so they were not interested in selling.
This kind of decision is a regular part of football. A club holds onto a player, believing that his situation will improve and that he will become an important contributor as the season progresses.
For the player, it can be a vote of confidence, a sign that the manager believes in his abilities. In Frattesi’s case, there was a specific reason for optimism.
Inter had a new manager, Cristian Chivu, taking charge. Often, a coaching change can offer a fresh start for players who were on the fringes of the team. It was widely expected that Frattesi would see more action under the new boss.
Unfortunately for the Italian international, that fresh start has not materialized. We are now several weeks into the new season, and the situation for Frattesi has actually gotten worse, not better.
The promise of more playing time has turned out to be empty. So far this campaign, across all competitions, he has been on the pitch for a mere 72 minutes.
To put that into perspective, that is less than a single full match. He has yet to be named in the starting lineup for a single game.
The reasons behind his continued exile appear to be tactical. The manager, Chivu, had initially planned to switch the team’s formation. The idea was to use a system that would have naturally included a player with Frattesi’s skillset.
However, according to reports from Italy, Chivu has since decided that the team is not ready for this tactical shift.
They are sticking with their familiar formation, one in which Frattesi simply doesn’t seem to fit. This has left the 26-year-old in a kind of footballing limbo. He is training with the team, but when match day arrives, he finds himself rooted to the bench.
This is a frustrating situation for any professional athlete, especially one in the prime of their career.
To make matters more puzzling, Inter has even been dealing with some injury problems in midfield, and yet Frattesi still cannot get a start. This strongly suggests that he is simply not in the manager’s current plans.
For Newcastle United, this evolving situation will be watched with great interest. The club’s initial offer demonstrated that they see Frattesi as a player who could improve their squad.
The fact that he is now experiencing such a dramatic lack of game time only reinforces the logic behind their summer interest.
A talented player who is not playing is often a player who becomes available in a future transfer window. The January window is now just a couple of months away.
If Frattesi’s situation does not change dramatically, it is very likely that he will begin to question his own future at Inter Milan. A player cannot afford to waste a full season on the bench.
When that happens, a move becomes almost inevitable. For Newcastle, this could represent a second chance to secure a player they clearly admire.
The club’s refusal to sell in the summer has not worked out for anyone involved. It hasn’t worked for Inter, who are not using a member of their squad, and it certainly hasn’t worked for Davide Frattesi, whose career has stalled at a crucial moment. What was a closed door in the summer could very well be wide open by January.
