Football Season Guide

After the past embarrassing season, which saw them change four managers and drop out of the European spots, Inter needed to undergo a major overhaul and they did at all levels. The Chinese investors who own the club together with President Thohir opted for Luciano Spalletti as the new coach and they promised him a competitive squad. First things first. Inter started their renewal by letting go a few players, whose time with the club had come to an end. Rodrigo Palacio, Juan Pablo Carrizo, Marco Andreolli and Jonathan Biabiany were all sold or released so that they could find somewhere to play. Gary Medel and Ever Banega were also sold to Besiktas and Sevilla respectively. The cleaning up and trimming of the squad has not really come to an end yet and almost no player is safe. The likes of Ivan Perisic, Jeison Murillo, Antonio Candreva, Geoffrey Kondogbia and more are all liable to quit for the right offer. Such departures were matched by some interesting signings. In fact, Matias Vecino and Borja Valero, both from Fiorentina, are expected to become the leaders in the middle of the park. Milan Skriniar, from Sampdoria, and Dalbert Henrique, from OGC Nice, should play in the heart of the defence and at left-back respectively. The feeling is that Inter are still a work-in-progress at the moment and coach Spalletti seems to be very upset that the board have not yet provided him with the players he needs. In fact, not too surprisingly, they are still looking for players for all the departments, especially attack where they cannot rely just on Mauro Icardi. Eder, the disappointing Gabigol and the returning Stevan Jovetic do not really seem apt for the job. Samir Handanovic looks like the only one sure of his place in goal, with new-come Daniele Padelli ready to deputise.