Milan Skriniar says Inter Coach Luciano Spalletti is “tough, but very good”, and jokes fans wanted him to change his first name.
The centre-back joined the Nerazzurri from Sampdoria this summer, and has been widely praised for his performances, not least from the Coach.
“Of course I’m not going to read what they say about me on the internet,” Skriniar told Sport in his native Slovakia.
Milan Skriniar says Inter Coach Luciano Spalletti is “tough, but very good”, and jokes fans wanted him to change his first name.
The centre-back joined the Nerazzurri from Sampdoria this summer, and has been widely praised for his performances, not least from the Coach.
“Of course I’m not going to read what they say about me on the internet,” Skriniar told Sport in his native Slovakia.
“I hear the chatter though. The Coach is viewing my performances well, he’s a tough Coach but a very good one, definitely one of the best in Italy.
“We have a great relationship, his great advantage is that he knows when to fire things up and when to relax.”
Skriniar also has a good relationship with the fans…
“I always like when they talk to me. When I first came they asked me to change my name, because mine is the same as our rivals, but obviously it was all in good fun.
“I don’t get crowded like [Marek] Hamsik does in Naples, but if I stop to sign one autograph another will come along.
“Milan fans also ask me to sign autographs but it’s no problem. There’s no comparison to what Marek gets in Naples though.”
The Slovakian international was then asked about the goals for the season.
“Last year Inter didn’t have a great season, for a club like this finishing seventh is basically no position at all,” Skriniar said.
“It would be naive to say that we’re Scudetto worthy, not least because there’s a lot of competition with the likes of Juventus, Napoli and Roma but we’re aiming for the Champions League.
“We have to return to that, Inter have to participate in the most important competition.”
Finally, Skriniar was asked about rumours linking him to Barcelona.
“I don’t know if it’s true, I don’t know anything more than what was written in the newspapers, it’s u to Karol [Csonto, Skriniar’s agent] to deal with that.
“I haven’t been at Inter long, so I don’t really want to be talking about a transfer. Barça is always Barça but I’m not saying anything.
“I’m at Inter and I’m happy.”