Internazionale have been busy again this summer, with Arturo Vidal’s arrival from Barcelona on Sunday being the sixth new face to arrive at the San Siro this summer.
The Italian giants also have a number of players back from loan spells last season, including Ivan Perisic, Joao Mario, Valentino Lazaro and Radja Nainggolan, though whether they will be moved on permanent before the close of the transfer window remains to be seen.
Mauro Icardi’s sale to Paris Saint-Germain has given Antonio Conte increased transfer budget to build a side capable of challenging for the Serie A title this season.
€40 million has been spent on Achraf Hakimi from Real Madrid. The pacey right-back has impressed on loan at Borussia Dortmund over the past two seasons that it was a surprise the Spanish giants moved him on.
Alexis Sanchez spent last season on loan from Manchester United before making his move permanent in August at the start of August.
Midfielders Nicolo Barella and Stefano Sensi have joined from Cagliari and Sassuolo off the back of good campaigns in 2019-20. Inter then signed experienced left-back Aleksandar Kolarov from AS Roma.
Here’s how Antonio Conte’s potential XI looks:
Goalkeeper: Samir Handanovic
The 36-year-old is set to start his ninth consecutive season as Inter’s number one. Samir Handanovic faces little competition for the 2020-21 campaign.
Defence: Milan Skriniar, Stefan de Vrij, Alessandro Bastoni
Antonio Conte used a number of centre-backs last season and hasn’t made any new additions here. Milan Skriniar has been strongly linked with a move away from the San Siro this summer but could be set to stay. Stefan de Vrij was a key part of their back three last season and that should remain the same this season. The final spot is up for grabs but youngster Alessandro Bastoni may have won that spot and started the Europa League final. Diego Godin and Andrea Ranocchia can both be rotated in.
Midfield: Achraf Hakimi, Christian Eriksen, Marcelo Brozovic, Arturo Vidal, Aleksandar Kolarov
Conte isn’t stuck for options in midfielder. Achraf Hakimi will be the new right wingback where Andrea Candreva started more than half of Inter’s Serie A games last season. Danilo D’Ambrosio should be the backup, but Valentino Lazaro is still at the club. The Italian international looks set to move to Sampdoria this summer. On the opposite flank Aleksandar Kolarov will compete with Ashley Young. Given their ages I would expect a lot of rotation here. Marcelo Brozovic was a key figure in the middle of the park last season so I would expect him to be among the midfielders who make the most appearances this season. Arturo Vidal should go straight into the starting lineup, whereas Christian Eriksen will face competition to start every week. He only made eight Serie A starts following his move from Tottenham Hotspur in January. Nicolo Barella, Roberto Gagliardini, Matias Vecino and Stefano Sensi all offer options for rotation in the middle of the park.
Attack: Lautaro Martinez, Romelu Lukaku
Lautaro Martinez and Romelu Lukaku formed an excellent strike partnership last summer but it will be interesting to see if both are still at Inter when they start their season on Saturday at home to Fiorentina. That’s because Martinez has been strongly linked with a move to Barcelona, though recent reports suggest Luis Suarez could be going in the opposite direction. Alexis Sanchez is another option up front for Conte, whilst Andrea Pinamonti has re-joined from Genoa.
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