New Inter Miami star signing Blaise Matuidi is in town and he is now just waiting to clear quarantine to officially join the team for training sessions and eventually make his debut.
“He’s been here since last week and surely he’ll be available next week,” Inter Miami manager Diego Alonso said in a conference call with reporters on Tuesday.
The players are eager to have him join the team in the hope he can help turn around a 1W-6L-0D expansion season that sees them stuck at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, although just five points away from a playoff spot.
“A World Cup champion is going to be on our team,” said Miami veteran central midfielder Victor Ulloa. “It’s going to be unbelievable for us to have him in training and he’s going to bring that dynamic that we need in the midfield — that box-to-box runner. And that intensity that he’s used to is really going to help us and we know the caliber of player and the talent he has. We’re hoping he can get on the pitch with us soon.”
“We haven’t been able to interact much with him,” Inter defender Andres Reyes said. “I think he’s going to give us a big help in the midfield and I think he’s going to show well in the team.”
The 33-year-old French international was signed by Inter Miami using Targeted Allocation Money on August 13 after three seasons with reigning Italian champions Juventus and six seasons with French giants Paris Saint-Germain, where he played with Inter Miami part owner David Beckham in the 2012-’13 season. He started out at French sides Troyes and Saint-Etienne before moving to PSG.
Matuidi won the 2018 World Cup with France and has logged 84 senior appearances for Les Bleus, registering nine goals and 10 assists across all competitions. In addition to the 2018 World Cup, he played in the 2014 edition as well as the 2016 Euros.
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