Transfer Window Roundup & Poll: The madness is over

Deadline Day always seems to make fans a little (or a lot) more nervous than usual. The hope of signing that final piece of the puzzle combined with the fear that a key player will be sold without time for to sign a replacement weighs heavily in the mind during these 24 hours. Ausilio was fairly aggressive, letting 5 players leave while bringing in 3 new additions to the squad. Now that it is all over we can take a look at how different the squad is now versus the last time the Nerazzurri took to the pitch.

Questionable

Ricky Alvarez: Both Inter and Sunderland are still waiting for the official FIFA decision on what to do with the Argentine midfielder. Inter's loan deal with the English club last season stipulated that if the side managed to avoid relegation they would have to purchase Alvarez. They stayed in the Premier League yet refused to buy him, citing his injury troubles that season. So until FIFA hands down a ruling Alvarez is just kinda floating in limbo. He isn't listed on either team's roster and I don't even know where/if he's training right now. It really sucks for him...

Departures

Saphir Taider: The first of the Deadline Day casualties, Taider departs in order to return to his former club Bologna. He never really got a chance to impress during his time at the club, and his loan last season at Southampton ended in amusing fashion after having his loan terminated after a month because he "failed to live up to the high levels of commitment expected of Southampton players". He went on to play for Sassuolo for the remainder of the year but he was never going to have a place in the side so it was necessary for him to move on. The deal is a 2 year loan with an obligation to buy at about  €4m.

Marco Andreolli: I always liked Andreolli, he always put in a reliable shift in the heart of the defense when asked and clearly loved Inter in that he was willing to return to his old club knowing he wasn't going to get much playing time. He even played as captain a few times and provided us with this bit of comedic gold. But with the arrivals of Miranda and Murillo his playing time would be reduced further (because the club would rather keep Ranocchia than him but whatever) so a departure was in everbodys' best interests. Andreolli heads to Sevilla on loan with an undisclosed option to purchase.

Vid Belec: Yes, we did have a goalkeeper named Belec. No, he didn't make a single league appearance; he did however manage 3 Europa League appearances in the 12/13 season (one of them coming from the bench after Castellazzi got sent off). That was the only season he spent at Inter, the rest of his time at the club after being promoted from the Primavera squad he was out on loan. The 25 year old departs on a permanent transfer to Carpi for an undisclosed fee.

Hernanes: The biggest departure of the day saw Hernanes move for €11m (with another €2m in bonuses) to Juventus. While selling to my least favorite club on the planet isn't fun, selling a 30 year old who just started to show his potential at the club after being there for a season and a half for only a €5m loss isn't the worst in the world. It's clear that Mancini is looking to shift the team's style of play away from one dependent on a trequartista, and it has also been made extremely clear based on past performances that Hernanes doesn't play very well in a 3 man midfield so selling made a bit of sense. Also, would you rather see Juventus signing Gotze, Draxler, or Hernanes?

Ezequiel Schelotto: His contract was terminated because he refused to move to Scion and the club just wasn't feeling like putting up with him. Thanks for the Derby Della Madonnina goal and that's about it.

Arrivals

Adem Ljajic: The key arrival of the day, Ljajic gets the chance to link up with his former teammate Jovetic once again at Inter. Though Roma has an abundance of wingers I am a bit surprised that they were willing to send him to the Nerazzurri, in the matches I've seen Ljajic was one of their most creative players, plus sending him to rekindle his partnership with Jovetic strengthens one of their direct rivals. Either way I am very excited about this move, especially since it only includes an option to purchase instead of an obligation, reducing a majority of any risks associated with this move for Inter. The figures are a €1.75m year-long loan with the option to buy set at €11m.

Felipe Melo: So in the end, it still happened. Even though he signed a contract extension and probably drove his price up but whatever, Mancini wanted him so Mancini got him. He will add some extra defensive steel to the midfield and actually might be fairly useful for the team. His arrival will give Kondogbia more leeway to storm forward to provide a link between the midfield and attack knowing that there will pretty much always be other help shielding the defense (whether in a 4231 or 433 formation).  His arrival is believed to have cost the club €3.5m.

Alex Telles: Part 2 of the Galatasaray purchases sees 22 year old fullback Alex Telles join Inter in a loan for a year with an opton to buy set at €8.5m. There is an extra €250k bonus that gets added in if Inter qualifies for the CL. I don't know much about Telles but we'll have to see how he can do in his new league.

So there you have it folks. Mancini "jokingly" asked for 8 or 9 new signing at the end of last season and now he has 10 (Miranda, Murillo, Montoya, Telles, Melo, Kondogbia, Ljajic, Perisic, Biabiany, and Jovetic). The defense has been entirely revamped, the midfield has added a lot of steel, and the attack has added a number of new shiny wingers, plus a striker who is currently on fire. A number of questions remain (the one sticking out in my mind is: What on earth will Mancini do with all these fullbacks? ) but now the pressure is on the players to deliver. Let's see what they can do.