(The tape recorder clicks on. The headset is still on. It’s been on for a week now. I think it’s fused to my skull.)
Act I: Faty Snubs Royalty
Some genuinely lovely news to start: Amdy Faty, an 18-year-old defensive midfielder with real upside, turned down both Lazio and Manchester City to sign for us. Let that sit for a second — a kid with Iain and Pep both circling chose Florence instead. £6 million up front, add-ons that could take it past £9 million, and a five-year contract that pencils him in as a squad player now and a regular starter within two seasons. He’s the spiritual successor to Vitaly Janelt in everything but name: a young, versatile rotation option we can develop rather than a finished product we overpay for. That’s the model now. Buy them raw, coach them up, let them become somebody else’s problem to compete for in five years’ time.
Act II: Good Riddance, Lorenzo
Lucca finally moved — Iain’s Lazio paid £30 million for him, and I’ll admit to feeling something closer to relief than sadness watching that one go through. Nobody else came in for him all summer, not even at knockdown prices under £20 million, which tells you everything about how the market actually valued a striker who spent half his time infuriating me and the other half bailing me out. Iain’s welcome to the emotional rollercoaster. £30 million for a player nobody else wanted is, frankly, one of the better bits of business I’ve done without lifting a finger.
Act III: The Ones That Actually Hurt
Not every departure this window has been so easy to wave off. Ranieri and Carboni both went, and both stung more than I expected. Carboni’s £25 million move to Leeds finally got its work permit sorted, and Ranieri has agreed to join Sunderland for £13.5 million rising to £16 million — the board topping up the transfer budget by £12 million the moment it’s done. I dragged my feet on both of these for weeks. In the end it was simply time to let two good, talented players go and back the squad we’re actually building rather than the one we used to have.
Cristhian Mosquera is a far more straightforward exit — £9 million from Brentford, a sensible fee for a fringe centre-back who needs regular football somewhere that isn’t behind Ibañez and Comuzzo in the pecking order. No sentiment required there. Good luck to him.
Act IV: Hincapié Says No to Everyone
Here’s the bit of business I’m proudest of all summer, and it’s the one where I didn’t have to do anything at all. Piero Hincapié had two enormous offers land on the desk — Manchester City with a package that could stretch to £57 million, then Atlético Madrid close behind at up to £55 million — and through all of it, he barely blinked. We rejected both. His head wasn’t turned, his form wasn’t unsettled, and by all accounts he’s more than happy staying exactly where he is. He forms a proper centre-back partnership with Comuzzo now, and given what Atlético and City were prepared to pay just to ask the question, I suspect we’ve quietly got one of the best defensive pairings in Serie A sitting right under our noses.
Act V: The Verdict So Far
Both the board and the fans have delivered their early-window report cards, and the story is basically the same from both sides: pleased with what’s come in — Kayode, Faty, Trent Alexander-Arnold on loan — and a little sore about what’s gone out, particularly Carboni, Janelt and Richardson. Fair enough. You don’t get to sell good players without someone missing them. The dressing room itself remains in excellent health throughout all of this — atmosphere and managerial support both rated Very Good, which given the sheer volume of arrivals and departures this month is not something to take for granted.
Next time: whoever’s still left standing once the dust actually settles.