OFFICIAL: Jeison Murillo to Valencia is done

In a deal finalized the Friday before the season opener, Inter Milan will be sending Colombian defender Jeison Murillo to Valencia on a two-year loan with an obligation to buy.

Keep up on Nerazzurri transfer news and rumors here.

The deal came as a surprise to no one, as photos surfaced of both Murillo and fellow-unsettled-teammate Geoffrey Kondogbia’s agent landing in Valencia to finalize their respective deals with the La Liga club.

Murillo’s departure leaves manager Luciano Spalletti in a bit of a tough situation. While our two first-choice center backs are now as clear-cut as ever, Miranda and Milan Skriniar, they are also now the only two true central defenders on the team. Unless, of course, you count Andrea Ranocchia as a reliable alternative. And may God help you if you do.

On several occasions, we heard that the club would refrain from selling Murillo until a suitable replacement had been purchased. The two transactions didn’t end up overlapping, and now Inter desperately need to add some additional defensive depth before the season really gets underway.

Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images

There’s no denying that Murillo’s first year at Inter was much more impressive than his second. During the 2015/16 season, and especially during our brief stint on top of the table, Jeison dazzled. He and Miranda dominated in central defense, and while Miranda always looked to be the cooler headed defender, Murillo was the exciting, budding young stud that Miranda was going to help groom into a truly great defender. Since then, however, things have slowly gone downhill.

Despite scoring one of the best Nerazzurri goals in a long, long time, Murillo’s 2016/17 season was plagued with inconsistency. The exciting, last-gasp defending we often saw the year prior turned into sheer recklessness. The biggest problem, it seemed, was disorganization. While Jeison undoubtedly possesses the skills to defend with the best of them, his general lack of awareness was his most-damning shortcoming.

All in all, he’s a player I’ll miss. His potential was always something that let me dream big for him.

And so: best of luck Jeison, and Forza Inter.