Inside Inter Milan: Inzaghi’s Tactics, Transfer Window and Best Players

A summer of evolution rather than revolution has followed Inter Milan’s first Scudetto in three years. While Juventus and Napoli ushered in the Thiago Motta and Antonio Conte’s eras to the tune of lavish spending, the Nerazzurri were unusually more restrained in the transfer window.

That is largely due to the depth of the squad at Simone Inzaghi’s disposal, which was by far the most complete in Serie A last season and has been further strengthened by the arrivals of Piotr Zielinski and Mehdi Taremi from Napoli and Porto, respectively.

Davide Frattesi, meanwhile, has made his loan move from Sassuolo permanent and his performances for Italy under Luciano Spalletti have presented Inzaghi with a selection dilemma.

Frattesi is Italy’s top scorer under Spalletti with six goals in 15 appearances and scored against France and Israel in the Nations League fixtures during the international break, but featured in just 53 minutes of football across Inter’s first three Serie A matches this term.

The 24-year-old made his first start in the 1-1 draw away at Monza on Sunday and it remains to be seen how Inzaghi rotates his options, particularly as Inter are determined to translate domestic dominance to European glory, after losing the final to Manchester City in 2023.

Inzaghi has won six major trophies in three seasons with the Beneamata, but Inter have been eliminated in the Round of 16 of the Champions League twice under his watch and there is a feeling in Italy that he will ultimately be judged for what he achieves in Europe.

To that end, the 0-0 draw against City on Wednesday night was a step in the right direction, as the Nerazzurri became only the second team to stop City from scoring at home in the Champions League in 42 matches under Pep Guardiola and could have arguably won the game themselves.

That is not to say that Inter can take a second consecutive Scudetto for granted. The Nerazzurri‘s start of the season has been a mixed bag from a domestic standpoint, with convincing wins at home over Lecce and Atalanta bookended by away draws against Genoa and Monza, in which the reigning Serie A champions looked defensively vulnerable.

The latter of those results in particular will be food for thought for Inzaghi, for his team never really got going and lacked the intensity the former Lazio manager demands from his players.

Inter were blunt up-front, their sterile possession resulting in a worrying absence of clear cut chances as neither Marcus Thuram nor Lautaro Martinez had a shot goal.

If the figure isn’t particularly worrying for the former, who scored four goals in the first three matches of the season, it is a concern for the latter, who is yet to find the net in Serie A after scoring 24 goals last season.

Inzaghi, however, maintains Martinez has played well so far and that the goals will come sooner or later. The Milan Derby on Sunday would be the perfect time for the Argentine to break his duck.

Transfers: Inter had a relatively quiet summer compared to some of their Serie A rivals, which speaks volumes for the options at Inzaghi’s disposal. The Nerazzurri spent around €70m (£59m) on players, with the bulk of it going on making the loan signings of Davide Frattesi, Carlos Augusto and Marko Arnautovic permanent. Josep Martinez arrived from Genoa for €13m to provide cover for Yann Sommer, while the signing of 21-year-old centre-back Tomas Palacios from Independiente Rivadivia for €6.5m suggests Inzaghi has one eye on the future.

Arguably the two most intriguing signings of the summer didn’t cost Inter a penny in transfer fees, with Piotr Zielinski and Mehdi Taremi joining on a free transfer from Napoli and Porto respectively. The Polish international will bolster a midfield already brimming with talent, while the Iranian should allow Inzaghi to rest Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram from time to time.

Best performers: Federico Dimarco has picked up where he left off last season, cementing himself as the best wing-back in the league and will be sorely missed against Manchester City on Thursday. Elsewhere, Marcus Thuram has bagged four goals in as many Serie A appearances so far, while Henrikh Mkhitaryan remains pivotal for Inzaghi’s system even at the age of 35.

Tactics: Inzaghi remains committed to the 3-5-2 formation that has served him so well since he took over at Inter, but he may be concerned by the lack of defensive solidity the Nerazzurri have displayed away from home so far this term, where they have conceded three goals in two matches. More worryingly, Lautaro Martinez is yet to open his account and has looked a pale imitation of the player who scored 24 goals last season. Inzaghi is also yet to square the circle in midfield, where the emergence of Davide Frattesi and Kristjan Asllani and the arrival of Piotr Zielinski mean he has six men competing for three places with Nicolo Barella, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Hakan Calhanoglu.

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