One of the first winter transfers has been confirmed. The German World Cup winner Lukas Podolski will now play for Roberto Mancini in Inter Milan, where he should have lots of minutes. On Friday, January 2nd, Podolski landed in Milan with a striped blue and black scarf. The rumor mill started and by Saturday morning, the loan of the left-footed winger was confirmed. Arsene Wenger made the decision to loan Podolski for 6 months. Podolski will play out the rest of the season for Inter, and it remains to be seen what the future beyond that will hold for Podloski.
Podolski was not getting enough minutes from Wenger at Arsenal. His performances were great and at the same time unlucky, participating in only 12 games at Arsenal this season. 7 of those games were Premier League games, and he scored 4 goals in all competitions. Wenger did not give Podolski enough minutes to prove himself, despite the fact that Arsenal has been beset by injuries this season. Wenger will now count on Theo Walcott as he returns from his injury.
On Saturday, January 3rd, Lukas had a medical, after which he met with Mancini. Inter’s official twitter account confirmed the loan and uploaded a picture of Lukas with Mancini standing by an Inter symbol. Lukas may make his debut on Tuesday, January 6th against the Serie A leaders Juventus, with Inter Milan currently 11th in the table, 18 points behind Juventus. They are only 6 points behind Champions League position, and will hope that Podolski will be able to inspire them to a strong second half of the season.
(Feature image: @Inter)