Only two Inter signings are among the 50 most expensive in Serie A this summer and Lorenzo Bettoni wonders whether Beppe Marotta has strengthened the Nerazzurri.
Inter failed to retain the title last season after selling Achraf Hakimi to PSG and Romelu Lukaku to Chelsea. The Belgian striker regretted his decision and has now returned to the club that, contrary to their opponents, didn’t have much money to spend during the summer transfer window.
Only two of their new signings are among the 50 most expensive ones, according to Transfermarkt. The Nerazzurri made Tucu Correa’s move permanent for €20m and loaned Lukaku from Chelsea for €8m. Those were Inter’s most lucrative purchases.
Marotta also secured loan deals with Empoli for Kristjan Asslani (€4m plus option to buy) and Cagliari for Raoul Bellanova (€3m plus option to buy). Francesco Acerbi joined the club on a free loan deal from Lazio on the deadline day, while André Onana and Henrikh Mkhitaryan signed with the team as free agents.
Inter didn’t finalise a big money sale to balance the books this summer but combined €40m from by sending Andrea Pinamonti to Sassuolo and Cesare Casadei to Chelsea. However, Inzaghi did see a big player leave as Ivan Perisic joined Tottenham at the end of his contract with the Nerazzurri.
This is exactly Inter’s main problem in the first part of the season. The biggest doubt about the Nerazzurri concerns the left flank, where Perisic played a key role last season thanks to his 10 goals and nine assists in 49 appearances.
Inzaghi is rotating Robin Gosens and Federico Dimarco, but neither player has been as effective as the new Tottenham star so far. The Nerazzurri have kept their star defenders, they signed a long-time replacement for Samir Handanovic (Onana) and a back-up for Marcelo Brozovic (Asslani), who was almost irreplaceable next season.
Inter have a deeper squad compared to last season, which will be very useful to compete at the highest levels in Serie A and Champions League, where they will face the group of death with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Viktoria Plzen.
Overall, Marotta seems to have strengthened the team, especially up front where Lukaku must provide the number of goals needed to win the Scudetto back. Considering the budget available for his summer’s Mercato, it’s already a good starting point.
@lorebetto
NO Money, No Honey as they say!