Inter Milan Transfer News: What Does Wesley Sneijder's Stay Mean for Inter?

Finally, the Wesley Sneijder saga comes to a close. 

According to an interview between La Gazzetta dello Sport and Massimo Moratti, Wesley Sneijder is and always has been an "untouchable" member of the Inter Milan squad. His exact words on Wesley Sneijder were:

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"There have never been any kind of talks about Wes. It doesn't matter whether Eto'o stays put or leaves the club. Sneijder was untouchable before the situation with Eto'o and he has become even more so now Eto'o could leave. Long story short, Sneijder is going nowhere."

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Moratti's words seem rather strange considering the numerous reports written about how close Manchester United and Inter Milan were to a deal, as well as the confirmation from Wesley Sneijder himself that some talks were taking place.

Sources close to the club also predicted that the deal would be completed, so its hard to believe that Sneijder has really been "untouchable" all summer long.

Nevertheless, the fact is that Wesley Sneijder will remain and Inter are much better for it. But what are the direct, and even indirect, effects of Wesley Sneijder's confirmed stay at the club?

For one, Wesley's Sneijder's stay at the club means Inter fans can collectively breathe a huge sigh of relief.

While Samuel Eto'o's move to Anzhi would hurt the club's goal-scoring capabilities, the club has plenty of able strikers to take up his spot, in the form of Goran Pandev, Giampaolo Pazzini, Diego Milito and even Luc Castaignos. None of them are presently world class strikers, but they're definitely capable of putting the ball in the net, especially with increased playing time.

Additionally, they've been strongly linked with Carlos Tevez and Ezequiel Lavezzi, and may just be able to bring in either striker with some of the funds received from the sale of Eto'o.

Sneijder however, has no ready-to-go replacement in the Inter Milan squad.

Inter will be hoping that Ricardo Alvarez eventually develops the playmaking skills of Sneijder, but at the moment he is quite raw and far from Sneijder's level. Since his arrival at Inter Milan in 2009, Sneijder has always been the main (almost only) source of creativity among a bunch of unimaginative midfielders, and that remains the case.

Thus, with Sneijder still on the squad, Gian Piero Gasperini can rely on the Dutch midfielder to continue curling in beautiful free kicks, running play and supplying the strikers with excellent assists.

On the subject of Gian Piero Gasperini, the Italian manager will now definitely have to edit his formation to accommodate Wesley Sneijder, and find out quickly what variation of his preferred 3-4-3 does this best.

During preseason, Gasperini tested out the 3-4-1-2 with Sneijder playing behind the strikers, but decided to try out a 3-5-1-1 in the TIM Super Cup versus AC Milan, with Sneijder playing behind Eto'o.

The result? Inter Milan were unable to score a goal from open play, and many players appeared out of position. Sneijder looked good, but whether that is attributable to his individual brilliance, or the success of formation, is debatable.

The bottom line is that Gasperini will need to find a formation that not only fits Sneijder, but fits the team as well. For a long time now, Inter Milan have avoided playing with left and right midfielders due to the lack of good width players on the squad, and that problem still remains. 

Alvarez has looked poor in preseason and in the Super Cup on the wings, and Maicon—the one proven, effective defender that can play as a solid wing-back—is undergoing knee surgery soon.

That leaves Joel Obi, Javier Zanetti, Yuto Nagatomo, Jonathan and Davide Santon as Inter Milan's wing-back options, but there are doubts about their abilities to excel as wing-backs for Gasperini's new formation.

With Inter Milan unlikely to dip in the transfer market for anything other than a replacement striker for Eto'o, Gasperini has a lot of work on his hands to find players who can perform as able wing-backs in his system, while also allowing Wesley Sneijder to continue to function as the team's playmaker.

How he handles these two issues will undoubtedly factor greatly into Inter Milan's success this season.

What do you think? Does the retention of Wesley Sneijder change the outlook of Inter Milan's season significantly—or do you think they are still doomed to failure should they lose Eto'o?

In adjusting for Sneijder and the rest of the squad, do you believe that Gasperini will be able to work out the kinks in the formation—or do you believe that Inter Milan will sink to their doom due to his formations?

Finally, a closing debate question, which I may actually turn to for a future article: Who is more important to the current Inter Milan side—Wesley Sneijder or Eto'o?

Looking forward to hearing your opinions on the article and the closing questions.