Article 46 — Assessment of Inter squad 2019–20
On the back of analysing the Manchester United squad of 2019–20, I would do the same for my other favourite team, Inter.
Starting with the goalkeeping department. The undoubted number 1 at the club is the club captain, Samir Handanovic. Since he has joined us, he has been immense and we have missed him a lot when he got injured before the enforced Corona Virus break. His understudy, Daniele Padelli has not covered himself in glory since getting the opportunity to stand in for Handanovic. Third choice Tommaso Berni has not played at all.
Since I have been an Inter fan, the first choice goalkeeper has almost always played when fit and not suspended. The only time I have noticed a goalkeeper gets a “break” is in the early rounds of Coppa Italia or in inconsequential matches. With Padelli’s shaky performance, which has come as a surprise to me, there are rumours that Inter would sign a goalkeeper to replace Padelli. Among the names linked are current Udinese first-choice goalkeeper, Juan Musso and Parma’s, Luigi Sepe. My personal choice would be to bring Ionut Radu back from his loan spell if indeed Padelli is sold.
In central defence, Milan Skriniar and Stefan de Vrij have been great since they got together last season. Under Antonio Conte this season, de Vrij has gone from strength to strength as a ball-playing centre back while Skriniar has shown some frailties this season. Skriniar has age on his side and can get better with time and there is no better manager for him to learn from than Conte.
I don’t feel Diego Godin has had as poor a season as it is made to seem. He is getting on in age and has been used sparingly but his experience is good to have around the squad. He has still got the quality and I repeat he has not played as poorly. In contrast, I have seen Nemanja Vidic who I know very well for the top class performances at Manchester United, perform so poorly at Inter. There have been rumours that Godin might leave at the end of the season because of the lack of sustained game time. I wouldn’t want him to leave because I feel he can still contribute so we shall see on what the club and player decides.
Young Alessandro Bastoni has pleasantly surprised me with his performances this season. He has benefitted from the sparing use of Godin to find space in the first team and has not disappointed. He can only get better if he keeps on developing as a player under the tutelage of Conte and with Skriniar, de Vrij and Godin as team-mates.
Danilo D’Ambrosio has been an under-rated player. He always gives his all when he has played but doesn’t get the recognition he deserves because his performances are deemed not good enough. He is versatile and covers the right-back, right-wing back and centre-back positions. He has made some vital defensive contributions and comes up with a goal every now and then. Good player to have as part of the squad. Andrea Ranocchia is a gentleman but sadly not realised his potential when he was signed. Together with Leonardo Bonucci, he was touted to be Italy’s next big centre-back but only Bonucci made it there. He is fully committed to the club and its cause and that is apparent but the quality of his performances has not been great. He has hardly played this season and I feel the time has come for him to leave at the end of this season. I am sure he would go on to have a good career wherever he goes.
In central defence, I don’t think Inter needs to make any major investments. If Godin leaves, we would need to look for a like-for-like replacement. We should also look to sign a young ball-playing centre back to develop as de Vrij’s understudy. De Vrij has not had much rest this season due to the absence of a like-for-like replacement and the lack of faith in Ranocchia.
It doesn’t come as a surprise that Antonio Candreva has been revitalised since Conte took over. Candreva played very well for Conte when he was in charge of the Italian national team. D’Ambrosio has played games at right wing-back but is preferred at centre-back. Valentino Lazaro had an alarmingly poor time at Inter. I doubt he has a future at the club at the end of his loan spell at Newcastle United. Victor Moses was signed in the winter but due to his long-term absence due to injury and lack of game time before joining us, he has not looked at his best yet. The jury is still out on him. He might have done well for Conte at Chelsea but settling into the Italian game is a different ball game.
Inter would need another player of quality in the right wing-back position. They could sign Moses permanently if he does well enough or if the club decides to take a risk on him. It’s a very demanding position so Inter needs to rotate players in this position for a long season ahead.
Another demanding position is on the opposite flank. I was glad when we brought back former youth product, Cristiano Biraghi on loan. He did well at Fiorentina with his set-piece deliveries and crosses. Sadly, he has not had the same impact at Inter and it looks like we will not exercise our option to sign him permanently. I have liked Kwado Asamoah since we signed him. He has the experience, tactical knowledge, speed and very good ability to take on players and attack. However, he has lost his place since his long-term injury. It looks likely that he will be allowed to leave at the end of the season. Ashley Young was signed in the winter and has been our best winter signing this season. He has settled in very well and is flourishing but is no spring chicken. He is getting on in age and we need a younger alternative.
The trio of Nicolo Barella, Marcelo Brozovic and Stefano Sensi in centre midfield was excellent until one by one, injury took Barella and Sensi out for long periods. We should be looking to get the best out of this trio again when we get back to playing again. I really hope Inter exercises the option to sign Sensi permanently because he was a revelation when fit earlier in the season. Matias Vecino offers something different to Barella and Sensi. He has shown the ability to carry the ball forward and gets into good positions to score.
Borja Valero looked liked a splendid signing when I saw him in pre-season in Singapore against Bayern Munich in 2017. He can read the game well and is good with his passes but he looks a bit long in the tooth now. There are rumours that he would be sacrificed and I will not be surprised. Roberto Gagliardini was a signing I was delighted we made at that time, a young Italian midfielder with lots of potential. He has found space thanks to the injuries of Barella and Sensi but his form has been up and down. The latest rumour is that he will be sold back to Atalanta.
There is a big, exciting rumour that we are going to sign highly-rated youngster Sandro Tonali from Brescia. I hope this comes true because he would be the perfect understudy for Brozovic. Brozovic has been over-used and looked tired in some matches so it would be good to have a player of quality around to enable that he gets some rest. I don’t see why we should sell Vecino and Gagliardini even though both players have been linked with a move out of Inter. The only other reason I feel either player would leave is if they state a desire to leave to find first-team football elsewhere.
We have still got Radja Nainggolan on our books and there are two rumours on him. The first is that he will return from his loan spell and get a chance to stake a claim in the first team. Conte is reportedly interested in linking up with his former player Arturo Vidal. I feel with Nainggolan around, we don’t need Vidal. It should be either one or the other. Both players are getting on with age but have experience, strong personality and ability. The other rumour emerged yesterday that Nainggolan would return to Roma in exchange for the player that moved the other direction for this transfer to take place, Nicolo Zaniolo.
If this turns out to be true, it would be exciting. I felt Zaniolo was sacrificed too soon by us and he went on to do well for Roma until he got a major injury last season. We will need to see how he does after his injury but is still very young with lots of scope to improve. I don’t feel he has nailed down a position yet in midfield so Conte can mould him into a role that gets the best out of him.
In central midfield, it would be crowded if we had Barella, Brozovic, Sensi, Vecino, Tonali, Nainggolan and Gagliardini provided Valero does leave and we do sign Tonali. It would then make sense if Vecino or Gagliardini was sold. We have young Lucien Agoume in our team but he hasn’t played much in the first-team. Conte and the club got to assess if he has what it takes to make the step up permanently in the first team or released on loan to gain experience elsewhere.
Christian Eriksen is an enigma. He was our biggest signing in the winter transfer window but he has not settled in well so far. He hardly played for Tottenham Hotspur before his move to Inter, mentally distracted by doubts on his future so is short on match fitness. I have seen what he is capable of in England and I really hope Conte gets the best out of him in the right formation. When he was signed, I thought he could be playing on the left side of central midfield, providing the creativity that has been missed since Sensi was injured. He too needs to get up to speed with the tactical demands of Conte and the Italian game. I do hope this signing works out well.
Upfront in the attack, Romelu Lukaku has had a great season so far. He has surprised me with his performances. He has held the ball up better, his touch on the ball is better and Conte has intelligently used him to receive the ball at feet to run at the opposition rather than holding it up waiting for support. His record in big games is still under scrutiny though which is an aspect he needs to improve on fast to take the next step up. He has formed a great partnership with Lautaro Martinez this season.
Martinez has been tenacious in his closing down, can run with the ball at his feet and is a good finisher. Where Lukaku goes missing in big matches, Martinez delivers there. A very good all-round attacker. There are strong rumours that Barcelona would sign him at the end of the season. I hope these rumours are not true because we shouldn’t be losing our best players if we want to build a team that can topple Juventus off the top and win the league. Going further than the group stage of the Champions League is another objective.
Alexis Sanchez performed like his old self in the early days of his transfer but got a long-term injury soon after. Since returning from injury, he has struggled to regain the form he showed. A very young Sebastiano Esposito has taken the limited chances he has had to perform well in the first-team. He looks to have a bright future if he keeps on developing. It is very obvious that if we lose Martinez leaves or Sanchez’s loan spell is not renewed or Esposito is sent out on loan, we will need to sign a striker to replace one of them.
First of all, I hope the team can recover from the cursed 2nd half of the season spell when football resumes. In all competitions, we need to continue believing that we have what it takes to win it because we need to start winning something. We have made good progress over the last 2 seasons under Luciano Spalletti. Antonio Conte was brought in to bring us up to the next level so the next level is to win something. It might not be the one we crave the most, the Scudetto yet or it could still be if results go our way. We never know and must keep believing to the end. We are also involved in two other competitions, Coppa Italia and Europa League. We are closer to the final of the Coppa Italia but must overcome a first-leg deficit to get there. I doubt we would take the Europa League too seriously.
If the club keeps making good signings while retaining the core of the squad and our best players, we will get closer to reaching the pinnacle of Italian football again. There has to be a change in mentality and luck as well and for that, it is imperative we win something this season.
