5 Things you need to know about Inter Milan ahead of the Serie A season
Our final Serie A preview for the upcoming season are the defending champions Inter Milan who are lead into the season yet again by Cristian Chivu who had an almost perfect first season in charge of the club winning the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in a brilliant season for the blue side of Milan. They finished 11 points clear of Napoli in 2nd place whilst beating Lazio 2-0 in the Coppa Italia final to cement quite a comfortable first season in charge for Chivu, apart from the Champions League where they were comprehensibly beaten 5-2 over two legs by Bodo/Glimt getting beat home and away in the Round of 32. A tie that Chivu will be keen to improve on this season along with aiming to go back-to-back in both the Serie A and Coppa Italia, can he keep up the success in his second season in charge of Inter? I don’t see why not.
How has Inter’s transfer window gone so far? Inter haven’t stood still following their title win last season bringing in Djed Spence from Spurs for wing-back/full-back, Curtis Jones from Liverpool for midfield, Aleksander Stankovic from Club Brugge for midfield, Ivan Provedel from Lazio as a goalkeeper, Manuel Akanji from Man City permanently after spending last season at Inter on loan along with John Stones who joins following his contract ending with Man City last season. There’s only a couple of exits to take note of with Denzel Dumfries moving to Real Madrid along with Yan Sommer, Matteo Darmian, Francesco Acerbi and Stephan De Vrij all leaving following the end of their contracts. Is there anything else Inter need to do before the end of the window? I’m not so sure there is.
How has Inter’s pre-season gone so far? Inter kicked off their pre-season in late July with a 2-1 win against Karlsruher SC with Andy Diouf scoring two stoppage time goals to secure the win for Inter, following that Inter began their Asia tour with a 1-1 draw against Man City with Benjamin Pavard scoring the only goal for the Serie A champions. They followed that draw with another one drawing 1-1 again with AC Milan this time with Federico Dimarco scoring the only goal this time for Inter, they played another rival in their next game beating Juventus 2-1 with Dimarco and Diouf getting on the scoresheet this time for Chivu’s side. Inter’s pre-season ended with a 1-0 win over Real Betis with John Stones scoring a late winner on his unofficial debut for the club, a successful pre-season for the Serie A champions who kick-off their season at home against Monza tomorrow.
Who are the players to watch for Inter this season? The first player to watch this season for Inter has to be Francesco Pio Esposito, he had a breakout year last season up front for Inter whilst Lautaro and Thuram were struggling with injuries scoring nine goals in all competitions. I can imagine him doubling that tally this season so long that he stays fit and Chivu trusts him as one of his strikers, he could be the one to lead Italy back to a major tournament. The next player to watch this season for Inter has to be Andy Diouf, he was brought in last season as a midfielder from Ligue 1 and had quite a disappointing first season in the Serie A. But he has come back this season in a new position at right wing-back and looked a completely different player flying up and down the flanks along with providing some real quality in the opposition’s box, I can see him starting off the season really strong whilst Djed Spence gets up to speed in the team. The final player to watch this season for Inter is Peter Sucic, having had a really strong first season in midfield along with a solid World Cup I think he’ll kick on again this year and be one of the best midfielders in the league this season. Am I missing anyone that’s going to shine this year for Inter? Let me know.
Predictions for Inter this season? I struggle to see a world where Inter don’t at least finish in the top 2 again this season, they have by far the strongest squad in the league and have added some real quality throughout the team that should help them compete better across Italy and Europe. I have Inter as the Serie A champions again this season but I’m sure Chivu will be keen to improve on their Champions League run after the disaster against Bodo/Glimt last year, do you think Inter can repeat their glory of last season? I can’t see why not.