Luciano Spalletti confirms Sime Vrsaljko could return to Atletico Madrid early, replaced by Cedric Soares, while Inter must “battle” with Torino.
It kicks off on Sunday at 17.00 GMT, click here for a match preview.
Luciano Spalletti confirms Sime Vrsaljko could return to Atletico Madrid early, replaced by Cedric Soares, while Inter must “battle” with Torino.
It kicks off on Sunday at 17.00 GMT, click here for a match preview.
The week has been dominated by transfer news, with Cedric Soares arriving on loan with option to buy from Southampton, while Sime Vrsaljko continues to struggle with injury since his temporary switch from Atletico Madrid.
There are rumours Vrsaljko could require surgery, which would mean sending him back to Madrid six months early.
“You all know Cedric,” said the Coach in his Press conference. “You also know Vrsaljko’s situation and the UEFA limitations. Right now, we are evaluating together with him, the club and Atletico what is best for the player to do.”
It was also suggested that Atletico Madrid defender Diego Godin has already undergone a secret medical ahead of his free transfer to Inter in June.
“I don’t think it’s fair to be discussing this right now, because I have to deal with other players. We are all under observation here, the players can see and hear us when we speak in the Press room. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves and start talking about next season.”
The transfer rumours continue to swirl around Ivan Perisic too, with suggestions he could be sold in January for €35-40m.
“It’s only normal that people talk about him during a transfer window, because he’s such a good player. You don’t talk about someone who has no chance of receiving an offer. The player knows his profession, so we expect him to keep doing what he needs to do.
“Maybe do even more, considering we expect a little extra from someone beyond the norm.”
Torino are challenging for European qualification and Spalletti expects a tough match against Walter Mazzarri’s side.
“Toro are a very physical side and their build-up play often goes through individual duels of strength. We’ve got to be more determined, because that isn’t really one of our characteristics, but it’s important to be ready if we have to fight for the ball and be first on rebounds. Then we can take the game back to the style we prefer.
“The Granata have a strong Coach, a good club behind them. Mazzarri is very similar to me, as he started from nothing and worked all over the world.
“I worked with Iago Falque and he knows how to take on any role. If Simone Zaza starts, that’ll change the tactical situation, because he is very physical and with Andrea Belotti can bully centre-backs. We’ll try to keep the ball away from our penalty area as much as possible.”
Matteo Politano has a muscular issue, but could still be on the bench, while Mauro Icardi has not looked sharp lately.
“In my view, Icardi is playing up to his strengths and characteristics. We ask him to give a little more than that to be a more complete striker,” added Spalletti.
“He is eager to get these skills into his locker, although sometimes it works and others it doesn’t. What he’s doing is perfectly in sync with his quality.”