Radja Nainggolan has completed his move from Roma to Inter Milan with Davide Santon and Nicolo Zaniolo reportedly set to move in the opposite direction.
Nainggolan, 30, is reunited with former Roma coach Luciano Spalletti, who took charge of the Nerazzurri a year ago, and brings to an end a four-and-a-half-year spell with the Giallorossi, during which he made 203 appearances.
The former Cagliari midfielder still had three years left to run on his contract in the Italian capital and his move comes as a surprise after he repeatedly turned down approaches from other clubs — notably from Chelsea — and pledged his allegiance to Roma.
He was a regular last season as Roma finished third and reached the Champions League semifinals, although his return of four goals was his lowest single-season haul since he joined the club in 2014, and seven fewer than he managed in the 2016-17 campaign.
It’s official! 📣✍@OfficialRadja
⚫🔵 2⃣0⃣2⃣2⃣Get all the details here 👉 https://t.co/evG6tJs0B3#WelcomeNinja #InterIsHere #FCIM pic.twitter.com/k5IHmIm6xM
— Inter (@Inter_en) June 26, 2018
Spalletti will hope to get similar figures from Nainggolan again next season after declaring he was the “missing piece” in his Inter puzzle, as they prepare their return to the Champions League next season.
“He’s the turbine that our game had been lacking,” Spalletti told Sky Sport Italia. “He’s going to set us alight. The fact that as soon as he knew he was on the transfer market, he decided to come to Inter is an important signal for us.
“More than the relationship between Nainggolan and Spalletti, it’s the relationship between Nainggolan and Inter which matters. Whenever he played against clubs like ours, Radja, like everybody, could see all the love there is around this club. We’ve got the biggest number of fans in the league and we have this mass of people who have followed us from stadium to stadium, showing us the way to go.”
Nainggolan, who was overlooked by Belgium coach Roberto Martinez for his World Cup squad, has signed a four-year contract in Milan.
Former Newcastle full-back Santon and 18-year-old midfielder Zaniolo have been valued at around €10m in what will reportedly be an overall €35m deal.
Ben Gladwell reports on Serie A, the Italian national team and the Bundesliga for ESPN FC, UEFA and the Press Association. @UEFAcomBenG.
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