We are deep into the business end of the season, and most of the league tables across Europe are starting to shape up.
Manchester City have conceded the Premier League title to Liverpool, Real Madrid are leading La Liga with three games to play, Bayern Munich have, once again, bagged the Bundesliga, and Juventus have a comfortable lead at the top of the Serie A table.
All of us are excited to see how the final tables look, but that’s hardly the end of the story.
With a new season just on the horizon, clubs have already started to move the pieces, hoping to get a more promising picture, next season.
As you’d expect, the rumour mill has been running incessantly, churning one juicy story after the other.
Today, we’ll take a look at one such promising rumour, and tell you whether the move makes any sense for the parties involved.
The rumour in question is a swap deal involving Inter Milan defender Milan Skriniar and Manchester City striker Gabriel Jesus.
The crux of the Milan Skriniar-Gabriel Jesus proposed swap deal
As per Italian outlet SportMediaSet, Serie A giants, Inter Milan are open to shipping Milan Skriniar to Manchester City if star striker Gabriel Jesus agrees to move in the opposite direction.
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have failed to replicate their last-season heroics in the Premier League and sit 21 points behind Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool after 35 rounds of fixtures.
They have endured 9 defeats in the league itself — 5 more than last season already — and failed to settle into a comfortable rhythm.
After the departure of Vincent Kompany, Manchester City needed someone just as solid in the heart of the defence.
They had a fully capable replacement in the form of Aymeric Laporte, but the Frenchman’s knee injury at the start of the season forced Manchester City to play without the stability they were desperately craving.
In all the other areas, Manchester City have more than enough talents and matchwinners. But in defence, they are still a long way from being comfortable.
Guardiola and the club owners know what they must do to return to the summit, and getting their paws on Milan Skriniar would definitely be a step in the right direction.
The Inter Milan centre-back, who has featured in 27 Serie A games this season, is one of the most sought-after players in his position and would certainly give City a tangible boost.
He’s young, agile, and good with his feet — hinting at the trifecta of success at a possession-loving club like Manchester City.
Of course, Inter, too, are more than aware of Milan Skriniar’s value and are unlikely to sell him without getting something valuable in return.
Antonio Conte’s side are currently fourth in the Italian top-flight — with a game in hand — and scored only 65 goals in Serie A this season.
Atalanta, Juventus, and Lazio have outscored the former Chelsea coach’s team this term, which has reportedly prompted the Italian to reinforce his attack.
Manchester City forward, Gabriel Jesus has a reputation for being ruthless in front of goal — a trait Inter would be very interested in.
He has netted 20 goals — 12 in the Premier League — in all competitions this season and is guaranteed to give Romelu Lukaku a helping hand.
As mentioned at the start of the piece, the complete analysis is based on a single report, which is enough reason to take it with a grain of salt.
However, if a move were to materialise in the coming weeks, we don’t believe it’d be bad for anyone involved. Manchester City would get a fine defender, Inter Milan would reinforce their front line, especially with Lautaro Martinez linked with a move to Barcelona.
Gabriel Jesus would be able to test his goalscoring skills against some of the finest defenders, and finally, Milan Skriniar would get the chance to develop under one of the best coaches of this era. Win, win, win, win!
Also Read: Bayern Munich or PSG: Where should Tiemoue Bakayoko move?