The Mendy Race: Inter Win the Paper Battle, but the Real Match Hasn't Begun

I saw Dario Baccin at the edge of Cagliari's training ground on a cold autumn afternoon. He stood still, hands in his coat pockets, eyes fixed on a young boy running down the right flank. Nobody noticed him, because the training-ground stands were almost empty. But I have been in this trade for 26 years, so I know this: when an Inter Milan sporting director leaves Milan to watch a Cagliari training session for the third time in a month, this is no longer a courtesy visit. This is the moment the two big clubs of Milan begin a new fight – a fight for a boy born in 2026 named Mendy. His name may not be familiar to Vietnamese fans, but in Italy, it has already appeared in major newspapers. La Repubblica report that Inter are leading the race to sign Mendy, largely thanks to the proactive work of sporting director Dario Baccin. Milan remain behind, 'attentive' but not yet deep enough in their groundwork. Meanwhile, Cagliari – a club enjoying a rare stellar start in Serie A – hold the final word. Mendy, from what I have gathered, is a forward or wide attacker from Cagliari's youth ranks. He is described as having 'raw potential and attacking ability'. But that is all he has left on paper. No xG, no minutes, no specific goals have been published in the report. The news about him reads like a blank sheet with the words 'next big superstar' printed in capital letters. That amount of information is not enough for me to say what he will become. But I know that at 19, you do not need a long CV to make people dream. What impresses me most is how Inter are running this operation. Baccin is not sitting in the office waiting for videos to arrive. He has personally gone to watch Mendy several times, then given the green light for a formal move. That is a rare image at a top club, where directors generally prefer the negotiating table to the training-ground stands. Baccin is new, and I believe he wants to make his first mark. A cheap signing of a 19-year-old talent would send a clear message: Inter do not need to buy packaged goods from the European market to prove their ambition. I remember my time in Incheon, when a coach mispronounced my name three times over the training-ground loudspeaker. I did not correct him; I just smiled. Then I spent a month reviewing the team's full video archive. I learned a rule: the smallest details often tell the biggest truths. The fact that Baccin personally travels to Cagliari, personally watches each session, is a small but powerful detail. It tells me Inter do not see Mendy as an emotional investment. They see him as part of a long-term plan. In fact, this strategy has been nurtured by Inter for a while. They have made clear they prefer to move early for young Serie A talent rather than enter glamorous bidding wars on the global market. In other words, they accept the risk of an unproven player in exchange for not paying an astronomical price for a proven but expensive one. That is a calculated gamble. And like every gamble, it only works if the scout is good enough. Baccin is betting his reputation on his eye for talent. Nobody says it out loud, but everyone understands: valuing a 19-year-old through training sessions instead of statistics is a gamble. I have seen young players shine at youth level, only to break down under first-team pressure. I have also seen underrated players suddenly blossom because they knew how to listen. Beat reporters do not just write matches; we write the rhythm of the pitch and the breathing of the kids running on it. What this story often hides is the role of Cagliari. People say 'Inter lead the race', 'Inter are in the driving seat', but I think they are wrong. Cagliari are holding the wheel. The club is having an impressive start, climbing the table, with no financial pressure forcing them to sell their jewel mid-season. To convince Cagliari to let Mendy go in January, Inter would have to pay a very high price – much higher than they planned. And if Cagliari continue to shine, they have even more reason to keep him until summer. In that picture, Milan look like bystanders. They have not disappeared; they are watching from a safe distance. If Inter stumble when negotiations begin, Milan can jump in. But it is also possible they are doing something smarter: letting Inter prepare the ground and set the price, then withdrawing if the deal becomes too expensive. Milan's game is not necessarily about winning the penalty shootout; it may simply be about forcing Inter to overpay. Juventus, another player, are not looking at Mendy. They are tracking Alessandro Romano, another Cagliari player who has already made his senior Italy debut. Daniel Maldini – a name that evokes a legend – was also nominated for September's Player of the Month. It means Cagliari currently own several prized assets, and Serie A's big clubs are standing around, waiting for the market to open. A stroke of luck does not come alone; neither does a disaster. If Cagliari are not careful, they could lose an entire generation of talent in two transfer windows. I have witnessed races like this before. When I was young, I thought the team with more money would always win. After many years, I understand that football never ends at the final whistle. There are midnight calls from the mother of a young player, when her son has been torn apart by the whole world after a 0-5 defeat. There are boys hailed as 'future superstars', then destroyed by expectation. When I write about Mendy, I cannot help remembering Park Yong-woo – a young striker I followed in Incheon, attacked by online mobs after a mistake, whose mother only asked me: 'Is my son okay?' Vietnamese football is like that, Korean football is like that, and Italian football is no different. Baccin may have seen a raw diamond in Mendy. Maybe he is right. But I have seen raw diamonds shatter under the heat of media lights. The 'next big Serie A superstar' label is a double-edged sword. It attracts big clubs, pushes the price up, and places a huge burden on a teenager. Mendy's story today looks more like a sprint among scouting departments than the story of the boy himself. Root verification – the thing I have pursued for 26 years – tells me to be careful with reports without numbers. No minutes, no goals, no contract. Only a diligent scout and a rising team. That may be enough to write a transfer story, but not enough to write a tactical analysis. I cannot tell you which Inter formation would suit Mendy; I can only say Inter are showing they value recruiting young domestic talent. And that trend tells me more about Serie A's financial future than about the future of one player. Based on my experience watching matches, I know possession percentage is the most deceptive metric in football. Some teams hold 60% possession but cannot manage a single shot on target. With transfer deals, it is the same. Inter may be controlling the narrative, but controlling the narrative is not controlling the player. In this profession, I have learned that every transfer is a silent farewell wrapped in a contract. When a boy leaves Cagliari for Milan, he carries his childhood, his family dinners, the roar of a small stadium. People see only a signature, but behind it is a family adapting to a new life, a mother separated from her son, a father worrying about his child's future. Baccin can calculate numbers and potential, but young Mendy may simply be a scared kid. The paradox is this: if Inter truly wanted to avoid bidding wars, they have created one in their own backyard. By publicly letting Baccin appear at Cagliari, they have announced to Milan, Juventus and all of Europe that a young talent is for sale. The so-called 'early advantage' can turn into a disadvantage if another giant steps in. That is why I always remind myself: in football, truth needs a defender, not a bandwagon. La Repubblica's report may be factually accurate, but the use of words like 'hijack' and 'superstar' creates a story much bigger than reality. So I ask one final question, not about Inter or Milan, but about Cagliari. When a small club suddenly becomes a nursery for three giants, what do they do? Keep their stars for a historic season, or sell before values begin to decline? History answers cruelly. But that is their business. My business is to follow the rhythm of the pitch and write each person's name correctly – Baccin, Mendy or Romano. A player's name being mispronounced on a loudspeaker is not a small thing. It says everything about whether you are respected. Inter may be winning on paper. But the real match – the one where Baccin must convince Cagliari to sit at the negotiating table – has not begun. The winter may pass in silence, and the summer will be the hour of truth. Then we will know whether Baccin is a scouting genius or just an impulsive man. I am 42 years old, old enough to know everything changes, young enough to still believe in a perfect pass. Mendy may be that pass, or not. But the race for the boy born in 2026 will go on, and I will sit on the edge of the training ground, recording every breath.