Four American Players Inter Should Sign

Happy Fourth of July to all the American Interisti out there!

As “Brothers of the World,” Inter Milan have naturally done an amazing job of employing players from a wide range of national backgrounds. As the club highlighted in its 109^th birthday video:

“We play with unity, with players hailing from more than 47 nations since our inception… we are undoubtedly a family of the world.”

While that’s an impressive number of nations for the club, one country is glaringly absent from the list, and that is of course, the United States of America. In honor of America’s Independence Day, here are four US-born players Inter should consider signing.

Jesse Gonzalez – GK, FC Dallas

Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images

While he would by no means be a first team signing for Inter, Jesse Gonzalez is one of the top up-and-coming goalkeeper prospects in the United States, and could be an interesting development project for the Nerazzurri.

If his name sounds familiar to you, it’s probably because Gonzalez made headlines last week by officially switching his international allegiance from Mexico to the United States — a switch that looks to be a bit of a blow for El Tri’s future in net.

Gonzalez is just 22 years old, and recently took over as the starting goalkeeper for his MLS club, FC Dallas, where his 2017 season is off to a great start, as he currently ranks in the top two for goals against average and save percentage in the league.

According to transfermarkt.com, Gonzalez has an estimated value of just €300,000. That, along with what looks to be a bright future, could make Gonzalez a shrewd signing for Inter. At the very least, he’d be able to replace Francesco Bardi as the young goalkeeper fans can get excited about.

Matt Miazga – CB, Chelsea

Photo by Alex Morton/Getty Images

Matt Miazga was once the hottest name when it came to American defensive prospects, as the center back made his MLS debut for the New York Red Bulls at just 18 years old in 2013. After two stellar seasons in MLS, Miazga moved to Chelsea in January 2016, and even made two senior appearances for the blues towards the end of their ill-fated 2015/16 title-defending campaign.

Like pretty much every member of Chelsea’s loan army, Miagza was sent to Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem, where he enjoyed a successful 2016/17 season. Miagza took some time to adapt, but once he made debut for the club, he didn’t look back, starting 18 of the club’s final 19 matches of the season. He was also a major part of Vitesse’s KNVB Cup run and win, which was the first major honor in Vitesse’s history.

After his impressive season, Miagza has been named to Bruce Arena’s 23-man squad for the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup group stages.

Miagza wouldn’t be a starter for Inter, but he has a bright future, and could be another great development project for the club if he gets tired of life as an endless loan candidate at Chelsea.

According to transfermarkt.com, he’d be valued at just around €2m. Miagza along with Tottenham Hotspur’s Cameron Carter-Vickers have been slated to become the core of the USMNT’s future back line, so it would be nice to see one of the two line-up for Inter at some point.

Bobby Wood – ST, Hamburg

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Bobby Wood is a player that seems to have been around for a while, but in reality the striker is still just 24 years old. He moved to Hamburger SV last summer, and had an impressive season in the Bundesliga.

While five goals and four assists in 28 appearances may not jump off the page, it’s important to keep in mind how awful Hamburg were at scoring last season. The club went an entire month without a goal, and ended up finding the back of the net just 33 times last campaign, the second lowest tally in the league. Wood contributed to nearly 30 percent of Hamburg’s offensive output, and was thus a major reason why the club were able to avoid relegation.

For the USMNT, Wood has scored eight senior level goals, including a late winner against Germany in 2015.

Wood has great pace and a nice passing touch for a striker, and can also operate on either wing. He could be an interesting depth option in attack for Inter.

According to transfermarkt.com, he’d be valued at just around €4.5m. In my opinion Wood could be a nice addition to replace Rodrigo Palacio and (the hopefully departing) Stevan Jovetic.

Christian Pulisic – Midfielder/Winger, Borussia Dortmund

Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images

Well, obviously... We can dream right?

After a breakout season in the Bundesliga, it appears that Christian Pulisic is on the verge of becoming a superstar. At just 18 years old, he’s already featured 16 times for his country, and has scored seven senior USMNT goals

For his club, Pulisic filled in for none other than Marco Reus this season, when the German missed time due to injury. The American starlet even earned more appearances in Reus’ absence than veteran German winger Andre Schurrle.

Pulisic is the youngest American to start a World Cup Qualifying match, is the youngest-ever Dortmund player to start in the Champions League, and even scored the tie-winning goal that saw Dortmund advance past Benfica in the CL Round of 16.

All of this, and yet the midfielder doesn’t even turn 19 until September.

Simply put, if Pulisic lives up to the hype surrounding him, he’ll go down as the Untied States’ best-ever player. Not to mention, if Inter were able to pull off signing him, the club would instantaneously gain hundreds of thousands of American fans overnight. That’s how highly U.S. fans rate the country’s boy wonder.

Considering that Pulisic is an attacking midfielder (who can also operate on the right wing), has the entire hopes of a nation of his shoulders, and is widely regarded as one of the sport’s top prospects, Inter would likely pay close to €30m for his services, introduce him in a lavish unveiling, only to stash him on the bench in favor of the ever-crossing, Antonio Candreva.

Signing Pulisic wouldn’t make sense unless Gabriel Barbosa leaves Inter, but today is the Fourth of July, so let’s enjoy taking a moment to imagine America’s brightest star wearing black and blue at the San Siro.

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So what do you think? Are there any other American players you’d like to see Inter sign? Share in the comments below.

Here’s hoping you have a safe and happy 4^th of July!