Inter are closing in on an agreement with Udinese for defender Oumar Solet, with personal terms reportedly in place and the two clubs narrowing the gap on a transfer fee — a development that places Udinese midfielder Jurgen Ekkelenkamp at the centre of another significant squad upheaval heading into the 2026-27 season.
The so-what is straightforward: Solet is not the only Udinese player Inter have been discussing. Reports indicate the Nerazzurri are in conversation with the Friulani over at least three potential signings, meaning the squad Kosta Runjaić has built around Ekkelenkamp and others could look considerably different by the time pre-season begins.
Ekkelenkamp, 26, has been one of the more consistent contributors in a Udinese side that finished the Serie A campaign in tenth place with 50 points from 37 matches. His five goals and three assists across 31 appearances, combined with an average rating of 6.90, represent the kind of steady, reliable output that keeps a mid-table side functional without ever dominating the headlines. That reliability is precisely what makes the surrounding uncertainty consequential: Runjaić's system depends on players who understand their roles, and losing multiple key figures to a single buyer compresses the rebuild timeline sharply.
Udinese's season — 14 wins, eight draws, 15 defeats, 45 goals scored and 47 conceded — reflects a squad that competed without ever threatening the upper half. Ekkelenkamp's numbers sit comfortably above the median for a midfielder in that context, and his AI overall rating of 73 with a potential ceiling of 78 suggests there is still a developmental arc to exploit, either at Udinese or elsewhere.
If Inter's interest in multiple Friulani players crystallises into actual transfers, Ekkelenkamp enters the summer as one of the few established presences around whom Runjaić would need to reconstruct.