Former Arsenal and Manchester City fullback Bacary Sagna believes Inter Milan are “the perfect club” for England stars John Stones, Djed Spence and Curtis Jones.
Sagna argued that Inter Milan is the club in the Serie A that most resembles a Premier League club in terms of how they play.
Furthermore, Sagna, revealed that he is an Inter Milan and was close to joining the club. However the move never materialized and Sagna suggested this was a what-if moment in his career.
The former France international also praised Inter Milan’s now former Sporting Director Piero Ausilio, who recently departed the club after 28 years.
Subsequently, Sagna backed Djed Spence to not only succeed at Inter Milan and the Serie A, but also deemed the England star as being better balanced than Denzel Dumfries who joined
Sagna gave these remarks in an interview with the The Italian Football Podcast, at an online event hosted by Wiz Slots.
Bacary Sagna: “Magnificent Inter Milan The Perfect Club” For England Trio Spence, Stones & Jones
“Well, first of all, yes, I am Interista. I love the club. I was very close to joining Inter, you know, in 2014. I met Piero Ausilio and, yeah, it’s probably maybe the question mark I will have in my life: what if I joined Inter?
“Because I still love the club today and I’m pleased to see them being successful” Sagna began.
“I’m pleased to see them taking some ex teammates and ex Premier League players. I think they will have a direct impact on the league by the way they play, by the way they were raised in UK football.
“Italian football is different from UK. It’s less intense, so I think they will find it more comfortable. And they are smart players, players good on the ball.
“I think they joined the perfect club because, if I had to take a club with the best identity and the one that looks most like an English type of club, I would say it’s Inter.
“But Inter is smart. I mean, Piero Ausilio is a smart guy and he has been doing amazingly at the club. I saw he’s leaving. However, since a few years, I think Inter has been the most consistent and the team that plays the best football in Italy.
“And obviously winning competitions, and playing two times in the Champions League final. Also, the players know this.
“They look at the history of the club and it’s probably why it’s easier now to attract players. And John Stones played against Inter in the final. He probably saw Inter and witnessed Inter’s quality at the time.
Djed Spence, yes, he had an amazing spell at Tottenham and, during the World Cup, he had a great impact. I think he was probably the right-back of the tournament.
So, yeah, I’m not surprised to see them playing for Inter. It’s an institution, it’s a family club, and I think the way the club is run is magnificent. Magnificent.”
Sagna Backs England Star Djed Spence For Inter Milan Success: “More Balanced Than Dumfries”
“I think Djed Spence is very balanced. He’s very good going forward. I don’t know if people watched England’s games during the World Cup, but he was probably one of the most impactful players for England.
“So, no, he’s going forward a lot. He’s good going forward and he’s fast. He can recover fast from a situation. He’s never out of position. He’s good one-on-one also. So I think he’s a more balanced player than Dumfries.
“Dumfries is really good going forward and having his word to say going forward, also scoring goals. But I think they didn’t lose in the change.
“I think Spence is a top, top player and he will prove everyone wrong. Whoever thinks he’s not as good as Dumfries, I think they will realise quite quickly that Inter did the right move by signing him.
“I think the balance has to be right. Most of the time, Inter is in possession of the ball, so when you are attacking most of the time, you don’t need to defend so much. So, of course, you can play Diouf.
“But whenever you’re going to have to face teams that attack with tricky wingers, defensively you have to close the side, and maybe Spence would be a better option. But this is also the beauty of Inter: they have the choice.
“Having the choice as a coach is amazing, and this is probably why Chivu wanted to buy this player, Spence. Because he probably knew that in the games where Inter will be attacked or more in trouble.
“When you have strong wingers like Vinícius, Spence will probably have more chances to play, because naturally he’s a better defender than Diouf.
“And when there will be open games and you’re going to have to attack a bit more, change tactically something, Diouf might have his say also.
“So I think, in the team, to have the right balance is good. And this is the case for Inter; this is the case for Arsenal.
“They have different types of players: always a more attacking option, but always a more defensive option. It depends on the demand of the game, and it’s a beauty to have two players of this quality” Sagna concluded.
Bacary Sagna spent six months in the Serie A with Benevento. He signed for them on February 3rd 2018 and featured 13 times scoring the one goal, a 90th minute equalizer in a 3-3 draw with Udinese.
After his brief stint with Benevento he spent two season with the Montreal Impact in the MLS before hanging up his boots.
However, throughout his decade long career with Arsenal and Manchester City in the Premier League, Sagna featured 267 times scoring four goals in the process in the English top flight.
He won the FA Cup in 2013/2014 season with the Gunners as well as the Football League Cup in 2015/2016 with Man City. At international level he was capped 65 times for France, never scoring.
