Why Inter sacrificed Pavard and not Bisseck after signing Akanji

There had, however, been suggestions earlier in the window that Bisseck could be sold for a significant profit. 

Premier League side Crystal Palace had seen a €32m bid for the one-time Germany international turned down at the end of July, with Inter reportedly holding out for an offer of €40m instead. 

Bisseck had joined the Nerazzurri at a cost of €7m two seasons ago. 

Why Inter sold Pavard and not Bisseck

There are two main reasons why Inter decided to keep hold of Bisseck and sacrifice Pavard instead. 

The first part comes down to age and future value. Inter’s transfer policy under current owners Oaktree revolves around the signings of young players with future sell-on value, as evidenced by the purchases of Luis Henrique, Petar Sucic, Ange-Yoan Bonny and Andy Diouf this summer, all of whom are aged between 21 and 23. 

Bisseck is currently 24 and still has the potential to increase his value on the transfer market, while Pavard will be into his 30s by the end of the season, and is only likely to see his value decrease over time. 

By selling Bisseck instead of Pavard, Inter would have been left with an ageing set of centre-back options of the largely unproven Tomas Palacios, Alessandro Bastoni (26), Pavard (29), Akanji (30), Stefan De Vrij (33) and Francesco Acerbi (37). 

Secondly, Bisseck offers slightly more tactical versatility than Pavard. The Frenchman was typically deployed on the right of a back three during his time in San Siro, while Bisseck is capable of covering on both sides of the defensive line.