Football Season Guide

Internazionale

In


Alex Cordaz (gk)(Crotone); Brazao (gk)(Real Oviedo, end of loan); Federico Dimarco (def)(Hellas Verona, end of loan); Matteo Darmian (def)(Parma, loan made permanent); Lucien Agoume (mid)(Spezia, end of loan); Valentino Lazaro (mid)(Borussia Monchengladbach, end of loan); Hakan Calhanoglu (mid)(free agent); Eddie Salcedo (att)(Hellas Verona, end of loan); Facundo Colidio (att)(Sint-Truiden, end of loan);

Out


Achraf Hakimi (r)(mid)(Paris Saint Germain); Daniele Padelli (gk)(released); Ashley Young (sp)(def)(Aston Villa); Romelu Lukaku (k)(att)(Chelsea); Radja Nainggolan (mid)(released);

With coach Antonio Conte at the helm, in just two seasons Inter made a great leap from contenders to champions. With 12 points over the runners up, the second best attack and the best defence in the league, Inter deservedly triumphed and seem destined to continue their domination of Italian football in the new campaign. Conte's decision to quit after such a triumph came as a big surprise. However, given the club's owners were considering major changes and not for the best, it's clear the coach knew exactly what he was doing Conte's worst fears were played out when having stolen Simone Inzaghi from Lazio in the dead of the night, the club's Chinese management started selling the family silver. Two of the main protagonists of last season's triumph were sold for huge sums of money: the often unstoppable right winger Hakimi left for PSG while Lukaku (64 goals in 95 games) returned to Chelsea. More could follow them, like Lautaro. On top of that, there is uncertainty over Eriksen's future after his on-field collapse during UEFA European Championship. There has been the signing of free agent Calhanoglu but there has been no further investment as yet. According to the rumours, 35-year-old Dzeko could become their new striker. A great bunch of youngsters returned from loan but of them, only Dimarco seems ready for a starting berth. At the moment, Inter need a new right winger/full-back, a striker or two, and more depth in all the departments, as last season they relied on a thin squad.

Target


With a new coach, still untested in a big club and a much-weakened squad, the top 4 might be the best Inter can hope for. Back to back Scudetto wins seems unlikely.