In recent years, Inter Milan have stood proudly at the pinnacle of Italian football.
Twice winners of the Coppa Italia over the past three seasons, they have been dealt the favourable and noble task of defending their 20th league triumph – bettered only by Juventus’ thirty-six, and one ahead of their city rivals AC Milan – having won the title last season.
Forged in 1908, when a group of players at a cricket club decided to break away to form their own football team, they have survived tumultuous times and bear the recognisable blue and black stripes with rich history.
Being a colossus of European football, expectations are always high.
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Season Recap
The 23/24 campaign was by and large a successful one for the Nerazzurri, winning the league title – confirmation of this all the sweeter as it came when they defeated their city rivals AC Milan in April – and subsequently earning a second star above their coveted badge.
Their Champions League progress was dismantled in the Round of 16, beaten by Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid on penalties at the Estadio Metropolitano, having finished second in their group behind Real Sociedad.
The prolific Lautaro Martinez finished the season with a remarkable 27 goals to his name, 24 of those coming in Serie A.
Early in the season, Simone Inzaghi penned an extension to his contract with Inter until June 2025, which will need to be revised if he is to stay on at the club beyond the end of this upcoming season.
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Transfer Window So Far
The club has kept their transfer business largely within Serie A, venturing outside of Italy only once.
Inter welcomed four players on July 1, most notably Sassuolo’s Davide Frattesi, who had been on loan to the Milan club during the 23/24 season and was made a permanent acquisition with a €29 million fee.
Austrian striker Marko Arnautovic has also joined alongside Poland international Piotr Zielinski, both signing from fellow Italian clubs Bologna and Napoli respectively.
Inzaghi also felt the need to bolster the Nerazzurri’s goalkeeping depth, doing so through the purchase of Genoa’s Josep Martinez for €13.5 million.
AC Monza wing-back Carlos Augusto has also joined the San Siro club.
Inter had also effectively completed the signing of striker Medhi Taremi from Porto many weeks before the summer window opened, who scored 64 goals for Dragoes over four years at the club.
Apart from the sales of Gaetano Oristanio and Mattia Zanotti for around €7 million combined, there have been few permanent outgoings within the first team.
The most noteworthy departures have been the former Barcelona, Arsenal and Manchester United forward Alexis Sanchez, who joins Udinese, and Colombia’s Juan Cuadrado who has been released after an injury-ridden season at the club.
Midfielder Stefano Sensi has also joined Monza on a free transfer.
It seems as though Inter have completed their business for the window, though it has been suggested that Filippo Inzaghi would still like to add another defender and forward to his squad before the window closes.
Sommer; De Vrij, Acerbi, Bastoni; Darmian, Mkhitaryan, Calhanoglu, Barella, Dimarco; Thuram, Martinez.
Can Inzaghi and Inter Go One Step Further in the Champions League?
Europe’s most coveted prize has eluded Inter since Jose Mourinho’s triumph in 2010 - names of Javier Zanetti, Wesley Sneijder, Samuel Eto’o and Julio Cesar all spring to mind.
They have appeared in one final since then, but their predictable defeat to treble-winners Manchester City bore no shame whatsoever considering the calibre of squad and manager – Pep Guardiola – that they were up against.
Inzaghi, who didn't win the Champions League as a player, will be keen to end Italy’s fourteen-year drought for the trophy with Inter.
If they are to go far in the competition, they will surely require Lautaro Martinez to haul his team forward. Belief should be strong for Inter fans, particularly at a time when the typical giants of European football have been a little sleepy in recent seasons – bar Real Madrid, of course.
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Season Expectations
Given the comparative strength of their squad, it would be fair to mark Inter as prospective champions of Italy once more.
Challenges will most likely be presented by AC Milan, Napoli and Juventus – who are gradually returning to their typical standard, having won the Coppa Italia last season.
They are far from being outright favourites for the Champions League and aren’t expected to be lifting the trophy at the Allianz Arena in May, but a quarter-final finish would be largely acceptable.
The Coppa Italia also bears a similar uncertainty. Inter definitely have the players to win both domestic competitions, but competition is strong, therefore triumph in any of their three main competitions would be very well received.
