Inter Milan Tackles Contract Renewals After Esposito's Extension

Inter Milan have tied down one of their brightest prospects. Now comes the hard part.

With Pio Esposito extending his deal to 2031, the Nerazzurri hierarchy, report Corriere dello Sport, are wasting no time. As soon as the summer transfer window shuts, the club will pivot straight into a decisive phase of renewals, determined to sort out the futures of their core players before any tension has the chance to build.

This is not a routine administrative cycle. Several big names are heading toward crucial stages of their contracts, and Inter want the order of business clear and settled by early autumn.

Dimarco at the top of the list

First in line: Federico Dimarco.

The left-back, a symbol of the current Inter side and MVP of their latest Scudetto triumph, is under contract until 2027, with the club holding an option to extend by another year. On paper, there is no immediate emergency.

Reality is different. Dimarco’s status has exploded, and so have expectations around his salary.

According to the report, the defender is pushing for a raise from 4 million to 5 million euros per season, a figure he believes better mirrors his influence on the pitch and his role in delivering Inter’s 21st league title. Inter, reassured by the option in his deal, are calm, but they know this is a negotiation they cannot afford to mishandle.

The player, for his part, is described as fully focused on football and open to a longer agreement. The club wants to reward a homegrown pillar. Both sides know they need each other. That usually speeds things up.

Carlos Augusto and the minutes question

Then comes the more nuanced case of Carlos Augusto.

Talks with the Brazilian have been running for months. Inter are ready to lift his salary to around 3 million euros, a clear sign they see him as more than just a squad filler.

But money is only half the equation. The other half is playing time.

With Alessandro Bastoni and Dimarco ahead of him in Cristian Chivu’s plans, Augusto must decide what he wants his next few years to look like: fight for minutes in a title-chasing side, or push for a role where he starts every week. Inter’s proposal is on the table. His ambition will dictate the pace and direction of the negotiations.

Calhanoglu enters a decisive year

In midfield, the situation is more pressing with Hakan Calhanoglu.

The playmaker has officially stepped into the final year of his contract. That alone raises the stakes, but his importance to the team turns this into a strategic priority.

Club president Beppe Marotta has already gone public with his backing, underlining how central Calhanoglu is to Inter’s long-term project. That kind of endorsement usually precedes serious talks and a strong push to lock down a renewal.

Letting a player of his calibre drift toward free agency is not an option for a club trying to stay at the top of Serie A and remain competitive in Europe.

A longer horizon of decisions

Beyond the immediate files on the desk, Inter’s board are staring at a broader, more complex horizon.

Between now and 2028, several pillars of the squad will need new deals. Names such as Alessandro Bastoni, Marcus Thuram, Manuel Akanji and Piotr Zielinski stand out in that medium-term cluster of expiries that can reshape a dressing room if not handled with care.

Each case comes with its own equation: age, physical load, wage demands, resale value, tactical fit. Inter must juggle all of it while keeping the wage bill under control and the squad competitive across multiple fronts.

At San Siro, the transfer window might close, but the real work never does. The season on the pitch has barely begun, yet inside the boardroom, the battle to secure Inter’s future core is already in full swing.