After winning Serie A by 19 points and having the best offensive and defensive records, Inter Milan could be forgiven for resting on their laurels ahead of the new season but behind the scenes the champions have been hard at work building for the future.
While the core of the side which scored the most and conceded the fewest league goals last season remains, Simone Inzaghi is keen to blend in new players to his preferred 3-5-2 set-up.
Inter’s moves in the transfer window have been focused on providing strong options and rotation for that five-man midfield.
The acquisitions of veteran Piotr Zielinski on a free transfer from Napoli and Carlos Augusto from Monza align with coach Inzaghi’s preference for a versatile midfield that can be regularly rotated to handle both offensive and defensive duties.
Pole Zielinski’s key strength when playing for Napoli was making opportunities for the front men by creating space in tight areas and taking advantage of counter-attacks, which fits well with Inter’s strategy.
Davide Frattesi, whose loan from Sassuolo has been made permanent, is set to play the central anchor role in midfield with veterans Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Hakan Calhanoglu likely to adopt more defensive roles to shield the back three.
Inter conceded only 22 goals across 38 league matches last season, nine fewer than any other team, but several members of the three-man defence are past 30 – Francesco Acerbi is 36, Matteo Darmian 34 and Stefan de Vrij 32.
Inzaghi may seek additional defensive options before the transfer window closes to support Federico Dimarco, Alessandro Bastoni and Benjamin Pavard.
Between the sticks, 26-year-old goalkeeper Josep Martinez has been brought in from Genoa to back-up Yann Sommer, 35, while gradually positioning himself for the starting role.
Inzaghi has made minimal changes in the forward positions with the formidable duo of Marcus Thuram and captain Lautaro Martinez combining for 37 goals in Serie A last season.
Iranian Mehdi Taremi, 32, has been brought in from FC Porto to replace the departed Alexis Sanchez as the main backup while Marko Arnautovic’s loan move from Bologna has been made permanent despite his injury problems.
Inter begin their title defence at Genoa on Aug. 17.
