Our January 2024 Defender Wish List for Inter Miami

The January 2024 Defender Wish List for Inter Miami

I’ll start the list in Germany with 35-year-old defender Mats Hummels.

The Borussia Dortmund defender is on a one-year contract until the end of the 2024 season.

It was a tough end of the season last year for Dortmund, which is partly why Hummels only signed a one-year deal. However, BVB got itself out of a tough Champions League group with the help of Hummels.

Possible: No. If Dortmund shows any kind of success domestically or in the Champions League, Hummels may elect to stay around for another season.

Next, we move to England and list Chelsea defender Thiago Silva.

Silva is nearly 40, so age may or may not be a concern. But, the biggest thing here is Chelsea’s American owners have proven somewhat inept in the transfer market.

Silva is still an occasional starter for the Blues, but Chelsea has several younger defenders hungry for playing time.

Possible: No. Even if Silva leaves, his level of performance for Chelsea is likely to draw plenty of teams in Europe interested in signing him.

We’ll stay in England and add Liverpool defender Joel Matip to the list.

The biggest issue for Matip is that he’s out for the season after an ACL injury earlier in the campaign. Prior to that, he was somewhat impressive to the point where manager Jurgen Klopp mentioned a new contract.

However, a 32-year-old defender with an ACL injury may not draw the same amount of enthusiasm from Liverpool’s owners when contract negotiations start.

Possible: Not really. I say that because with an ACL injury, Matip could be the cheapest get for Inter Miami. That said, I think the chances are very remote.

Moving on to Tottenham and defender Eric Dier.

New manager Ange Postecoglou has used Dier sparingly… and I do mean sparingly… this season.

That’s likely an indication that Dier is on his way out of London and on to a team that will utilize his talents more.

Possible: No. At just 29, Dier is still in his prime for a defender. If he does move on from Tottenham, there won’t be a shortage of teams looking to sign him.

The next on the list is Manchester United defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

This would be a great pick-up for Inter Miami as Wan-Bissaka, to me, is one of the best defenders in Europe.

That said, he is a favorite of United manager Erik ten Hag.

Possible: No. Wan-Bissaka is just 26 and playing good football. He’ll either stay with United (provided ten Hag stays) or pick up a sizable contract elsewhere in Europe.

Moving to Italy, we find Leonardo Spinazzola.

Currently with Roma, Spinazzola has not provided the same sizzle with his club side as he did with his country side in Euro 2020.

Injuries have had a lot to do with it and it may be time for Roma and manager Jose Mourinho to cut their ties.

Possible: Not really. He would be a decent get for Inter Miami, but I’m just not sure how many aging, injury-prone players the Herons want to carry on the roster.

So, in the end, there are a lot of possibilities, but I don’t think the road to new defenders for Inter Miami is paved through Europe.

Many of these players are just financially out of reach for the Herons.

I think it’s more likely that Inter Miami looks south of the border to South America to bolster its defensive line.

More on that later.