Inter manager Roberto Mancini, with the help of Piero Ausilio, has sculpted one of the best squads on paper ahead of the 2015/16 season with a host of new additions.
Last Season
Inter flattered to deceive last season, struggling mightily under Walter Mazzarri and showing signs of recovery before eventually limping to an 8th place finish.
Having finished 5th the previous season (2013-14), the Nerazzurri were looking to build and challenge for a top three position in Serie A, backed by talented players such as Mateo Kovacic, Mauro Icardi, Gary Medel and Samir Handanovic.
Given the strength of the squad, it was definitely underwhelming when Inter found themselves as low as ninth after matchday 11. This is what triggered the managerial change as Roberto Mancini came in, and whilst he struggled at first to impose his style, the team eventually rallied to finish eighth having been as low as thirteenth.
Inter did almost sneak into Europe once again, but after beating Empoli in their last game of the season at the Meazza, Parma failed to beat Sampdoria, compounding them to a season without European football.
Napoli proved to be a step too far in the Coppa Italia as they knocked Inter out in the quarter-finals; this after the Milano side had beaten Sampdoria 2-0 in the Round of 16 stage at the San Siro.
In Europe, Inter did well to finish top of their group, amassing 12 points with three wins and three draws. The victories came against Dnipro (0-1 and 2-1) and Qarabag (2-0), while they drew twice with Saint-Etienne. This set the Italians up with a Round of 32 clash agaisnt Glasgow Celtic from which they progressed, after a thrilling 3-3 draw at Celtic Park gave Mancini's side the away goals needed to go through, winning 1-0 at home thanks to a Fredy Guarin strike.
Wolfsburg then dumped Inter out of the compeition in the following round, as Inter lost 3-1 away from home in the first leg despite taking a lead, and 2-1 at home, meaning a 5-2 aggregate defeat to the new German powerhouses.
Transfers In and Out - (excluding end of loans)
In (11) - Geoffrey Kondogbia (from Monaco - £21m), Xherdan Shaqiri (obligation to buy exercised from Bayern - £11.2m), Jeison Murillo (from Granada - £5.6m), Davide Santon (obligation to buy exercised from Newcastle - £2.59m), Miranda (two-year loan from Atletico Madrid with view to buy - £2.1m loan fee), Stevan Jovetic (18 month loan from Manchester City with view to buy - £2.1m loan fee), Martin Montoya (season long loan from Barcelona - £700k loan fee), Jonathan Biabiany (free), Vincenzo Tommasone (from Genoa Primavera - fee undisclosed), Evans Kondogbia (from Arles-Avign - fee undisclosed), Francseco Forte (from AC Pisa - fee undisclosed).
Out - Ricardo Alvarez (Sunderland - £7.35m), Ibrahima Mbaye (Bologna - £2.45m), Ruben Botta (Pachuca - £1.89m), Alfred Duncan (Sampdoria - £1.82m), Joel Obi (Torino - £1.61m), Zdravko Kuzmanovic (Basel - £1.4m), Lorenzo Crisiteg (loan), Rene Krhin (Granada - £910k), Lukas Spendlhofer (Sturm Graz - £315k), Riccardo Bocalon (Alessandria - £189k), Felipe (Spezia - free), Matias Silvestre (Sampdoria - free).
Released: Alessandro Cannataro, Hugo Campagnaro, Jonathan.
Loaned: Andrea Bandini, Fabio Eguelfi, Andrea Romano, Isaac Donkor, Leonardo Longo, George Puscas, Francesco Bardi, Francesco Forte, Valeriano Nchama, Samuele Longo.
As can be seen from the additions, Inter have added a lot of quality and addressed many team needs.
Murillo and Miranda come in to shore up a leaky defence and will rival Ranocchia and Juan Jesus, while Geoffrey Kondgobia provides one of the best all round midfield skill sets in world football. Stevan Jovetic will be a good strike partner for Capocannoniere winner Mauro Icardi providing he can stay fit, and Martin Montoya is an interesting addition and much needed full-back reinforcement.
In terms of outs, Inter have shed a lot of dead wood, with many players leaving the club who were surplus to requirements. Managing to keep hold of Mauro Icardi and Mateo Kovacic has been great for the club, while losing the likes of Obi and Kuzmanovic will not be seen as a huge loss. Also, a lot of promising players have gone out on loan such as Bardi and Donkor, to get minutes and further develop.
Manager
This will be Roberto Mancini's first full season in charge of Inter in his second spell at the club.
His first spell in charge between 2004-2008 was very successful, yielding three Serie A titles, two Coppa Italias and two Supercoppas.
At Manchester City, he was responsible for one of the most dramatic days in the club's history as they lifted the 2011-12 Barclay's Premier League title with a last minute Sergio Aguero goal. He also won the FA Cup and Community Shield with the club.
Before his second Inter stint, he managed Turkish side Galatasaray and was not so successful, winning only the Turkish Cup in 2013-14.
Nevertheless, Mancini is a proven winner and will continue to mould the Nerazzurri into contenders if given time and confidence by the board.
The manager himself has confidence in his squad, stating that he is "certain about the future and the championship" to reporters after a preseason game in China. He added that he has "the players that can challenge for the title."
First Six
1. Inter-Atalanta
2. Carpi-Inter
3. Inter-Milan
4. Chievo-Inter
5. Inter-Verona
6. Inter-Fiorentina
One of the reasons Inter fans can be excited is because of the relatively easy start to the season that they have. All six games are very winnable, and if they can began the season well then the momentum will be very useful.
Tricky games occur on matchday three with the first instalment of the Derby della Madonnina, while matchday six brings Fiorentina to the San Siro in another exciting match.
The final game for Inter is away at Sassuolo, which will follow Empoli at home in round 37 as the final home game for the second year running against the Azzurri.
Derby Days
Inter will face Milan on September 13th in a rather early first Derby della Madonnina, the reverse fixture coming on January 31st.
Both meetings between the sides were draws last season; 1-1 and 0-0 with Milan and Inter the 'home' sides respective to those scorelines.
The Derby d'Italia for 2015-16 opens up on October 18th as Inter host Juventus in round eight; Juventus doing the honours on February 28th back in Turin.
Last season, Inter earned a draw at Juventus Stadium with a 1-1 scoreline, but lost 2-1 to the Champions at home as Morata netted a late winner.
Predicted Most Important Player
Mauro Icardi - In 2014-15 there was no doubt that the Argentine was one of the only bright spots for Inter in a torrid year.
The striker showed how much his game is developing, with a plethora of neat finishes complementing the 22 goals he scored throughout the campaign.
Having rejected an offer from Real Madrid and committed his future to the club, it is important that Icardi follows up a stellar season with one just as good if not better, but at least he will have a more than adequate partner in Jovetic to help provide.
Predicted finishes (All competitions)
Serie A - 4th
There are lots of reasons that the Nerazzurri can crack the top three, such as the shake-up at Juventus, question marks over the Rome clubs and Napoli's underperformance last season. However, supporters must stay grounded and acknowledge that Mancini still has a lot of work to do. Proof of this has been seen in a poor preseason which has shown that the team still has to gel, but there is little to suggest the team will finish outside the top five.
Coppa Italia - Semi Final
One competition where Inter should do better is the Coppa Italia. Mancini should take this Coppa as seriously as possible and try book a date in the final. They will enter at the round of 16, and will face one of Sassuolo, Benevento, Tuttocuoio, Modena, Trapani, Como, Cagliari or Entella before a potential quarter-final rematch with Napoli.
A tough but exciting season beckons for Inter. It will entertaining to see if they can live up to expectations and seriously challenge amongst other contenders.