Inter will meet Al-Nassr and PSG during their pre-season tour in Japan, but Simone Inzaghi has two big problems to solve: one in goal and the other in attack.
The Nerazzurri took off for Asia on Sunday, but Inzaghi’s team is still not complete. The goalkeeper situation is particularly concerning for coach Inzaghi given that the club have not yet signed replacements for André Onana and Samir Handanovic.
Alessandro Calligaris, 18, Filip Stankovic – 21, son of Inter legend Dejan – and Raffaele Di Gennaro are the three goalkeepers called up by the Nerazzurri boss for the pre-season tour in Japan.
Di Gennaro, 29, is a product of Inter’s academy but left the club in 2019 to join Catanzaro on a free transfer. He returned to the Stadio Meazza as a free agent earlier this summer after spending last season with Serie C side Gubbio. Di Gennaro is Inter’s only new purchase in goal so far in the summer transfer window.
It is no secret that Yann Sommer and Anatoliy Trubin are Inter’s main targets to replace Handanovic and Onana, but Beppe Marotta has not yet reached agreements with either Bayern Munich or Shakhtar Donetsk. Former Manchester United keeper David De Gea has also been mentioned as a potential reinforcement for Inter.
The other issue for Inzaghi is on the opposite side of the pitch. Inter saw Edin Dzeko and Romelu Lukaku leave at the end of 2022-23, but have only signed one striker so far: Marcus Thuram on a free transfer from Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Sebastiano Esposito, Giovanni Fabbian, Aleksandar Stankovic and Giacomo Stabile have joined Thuram, Lautaro Martinez and Joaquin Correa in Japan, but Inzaghi hoped he could have a new centre forward in time for the pre-season tour.
After dropping Lukaku, the Nerazzurri have spoken with Alvaro Morata’s agents but seem unwilling to match the striker’s €21m clause. Football Italia understands Arsenal’s Folarin Balogun is another top transfer target for the Serie A giants, followed by Udinese forward Beto and West Ham’s Gianluca Scamacca, who is also wanted by Roma.