It has very much been a window of two halves for Inter so far. They started the summer in a pretty efficient manner and because of that, they certainly seem stronger than last season.
The Nerazzurri have largely been the talk of the Serie A market because as usual, they have been very busy and they have had financial issues to worry about alongside that business.
They set themselves the target of making €60 million in profit from the transfer market whilst also cutting the wage bill by 10%. All that whilst trying to overhaul AC Milan and keep Juventus at bay.
Inter summer signings
There have been five major signings by Inter so far this summer that should have a serious impact on the squad. There are six if you count Joaquin Correa’s move being made permanent.
Romelu Lukaku: This is the big move of the summer for Inter and arguably the big move of the summer for Serie A. Just one year after Inter sold Lukaku to Chelsea for a staggering €115 million, they have got him back on loan for a snip of the price. Inter are going to pay Chelsea €8 million for the privilege of having the Belgian striker back.
He played 95 games in his previous two-year spell with Inter and he scored an incredible 64 times, getting 16 assists as well. His partnership with Lautaro Martinez was devastating when Antonio Conte led Inter to the Scudetto and Simone Inzaghi will be desperate to have that at his disposal this season.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan: Whilst Mkhitaryan is a player that Inter have shown interest in before, this move seemed fairly opportunistic from Inter CEO Beppe Marotta and sporting director Piero Ausilio. The Armenian was coming to the end of his AS Roma contract but it was assumed that he would accept the fresh offer from the Giallorossi.
Then Inter came in with their own proposal that was marginally better on the financial side but crucially, they were able to offer Champions League football and a credible title challenge which Roma could not. He’ll add some serious quality depth to the Inter midfield which was a problem last season.
Kristjan Asllani: In the long run, this could be Inter’s best bit of business for the summer. Asllani had a deeply impressive season with Empoli last season even if their campaign did tail off dramatically. The Albanian midfielder was signed on loan for €4m and Inter will make it permanent next summer for a further €10m.
The 20-year-old was signed as a much-needed backup and eventual replacement for Marcelo Brozovic but pre-season reports have suggested that the club view him as being much more than that given how technically gifted is and how mature he seems to be. Lukaku signed the day before him and remarked about how mature he seems to be.
Andre Onana: This is a move that was on the cards for many months but was only made official towards the beginning of the window. Onana has been serving a nine-month doping ban and by the time he was getting closer to coming back to action, it was clear that he would not be the number one at Ajax.
Inter acted fast and blocked the Cameroonian. He is going to provide serious competition for the number one spot with Samir Handanovic which is what the Nerazzurri were missing last season with Andrei Radu.
Raoul Bellanova: This is another very astute piece of business from Inter although the impact may not be as pronounced this season as it should be with Asllani. Bellanova was very impressive for Cagliari last season and the right-back is going to be back up for Denzel Dumfries, providing the Dutchman is not sold late in the window.
He has joined on loan for €4m and Inter can make that permanent for €6m next summer if they choose to. The 22-year-old is certainly talented but it remains to be seen how many games he gets.
Assessment: The signings that Inter have made this summer so far certainly address areas in the squad that needed improving. More depth at wingback is brought by Bellanova and there is increased quality in the goalkeeping department with Onana.
The midfield depth was a serious issue last season but with Mkhitaryan and Asllani, that has been addressed very well. As for Lukaku, whilst it is something of a luxury signing, he can potentially be the difference maker in the new campaign.
Inter summer sales
The outgoings from Inter this summer are much more about quantity than quality. Only one regular starter from last season has left the club and a host of fringe players and youngsters have been moved on to lower the wage bill.
Ivan Perisic: The Croatian wingback is the only example this summer of a player leaving that the fans and club would rather have kept. They could not convince him to sign a new deal and he’ll be turning out for Conte’s Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League next season.
Arturo Vidal: This is a deal that Inter really needed to make happen. The Chilean midfielder was purely a rotation option last season but he was taking home around €7m per season in wages. Inter had to pay him €3.5m in severance pay to break his contract and he has now signed for Flamengo in Brazil.
Alexis Sanchez: This departure is not official at the time of writing but Sanchez was in France on Friday to sign his contract with Marseille. Inter are going to pay him €5m in severance pay but they will get his huge wages off of the books too, helping them hit that target of reducing the wage bill by 10%.
In terms of other players who had a role in the first team last season, Andrea Ranocchia has moved to Monza at the end of his contract, and Stefano Sensi has gone to the same club on a loan deal. Aleksandar Kolarov has retired and Radu has gone on loan to Cremonese. Matias Vecino also left at the end of his contract, heading to Lazio.
It cannot be ruled out that Inter are going to make a major sale during the rest of the window. Milan Skriniar and Dumfries are being linked with moves and they are likely to sell Cesare Casadei and Andrea Pinamonti before the transfer window is over. That €60m of profit has not been made yet.
Every Inter summer 2022 transfer
Ins: Romelu Lukaku, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Andre Onana, Kristjan Asllani, Raoul Bellanova, Joaquin Correa.
Outs: Ivan Perisic, Alexis Sanchez, Arturo Vidal, Matias Vecino, Andrea Ranocchia, Stefano Sensi, Andrei Radu, Michele Di Gregorio, Valentino Lazaro, Lorenzo Pirola, Zinho Vanheusden, Samuele Mulattieri, Davide Zugaro, Tibo Persyn, Edoardo Sottini, Franco Carboni, Marco Pompetti, Martin Satriano, Sebastiano Esposito.
