The Iranian, close to Milan in August, has an expiring contract with Porto. The other track with Chelsea: they like the Albanian Broja, who has already been followed in the past
There is a counter-trend figure that scares Inter. And which cannot fail to catch the eye: Inzaghi’s team has the most prolific attack in the championship (21 goals), in 10 seasonal matches between Serie A and the Champions League they scored over two goals on average every 90 minutes (2.3 to be precise), yet he got nothing from half of his offensive department. Yesterday the official Nerazzurri account on Twitter celebrated ThuLa day, nicely taking as its inspiration the 9th and 10th which formed the date of 9th October. But the point is not them. It’s the other half of the Nerazzurri sky. They are Marko Arnautovic and Alexis Sanchez, who so far have had zero impact between injuries and performance. And it is a number that a team that has the ambition of winning the scudetto and going far in the Champions League cannot afford. To be clear: of the top six teams in the standings today, Inter is the only one to have had nothing from its reserve attackers.
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When we say zero impact it is not a figure of speech. Zero like the goals scored by the Austrian and the Chilean, in a team where everyone scores. What’s more: the two have also made zero shots on target at the opposing goal in a total of 313 minutes spent on the pitch. Up until now, Inter have been dependent on the strength, explosiveness and scoring streak of Thuram and Lautaro. And not only that, because Inzaghi has built a goal machine that involves everyone, defenders and midfielders included. However, he was unable to do the same with two of the three attackers who arrived from the transfer market in the summer. Arnautovic was stopped by the injury in Empoli, but had already given mixed signals before. Sanchez had a difficult start, also due to his athletic training starting late. But overall his assessment so far is not positive. And his best performance, relating to the first month and a half of the season, was that of San Sebastian, when he contributed to the Nerazzurri’s rise to a draw. The Chilean currently seems to be giving his best away from the opponent’s area, as a finisher and not as an actual attacker. In truth, last season’s numbers at Marseille still bode well, with 18 goals this season in 44 overall appearances.
THE SLOPES
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Inzaghi is waiting for him. Wait for Sanchez and Arnautovic himself, who could be available again before the next break in November. It is clear that a real reversal of the trend is needed. But if today a gap must be identified, at least in terms of performance, in the squad built in the summer, it is precisely in the attack. It is too early to define with certainty a strategy linked to the market for the month of January. But in recent years Inter have shown that they know how to intervene during the current season if necessary. Or opportunities. One opportunity could be Mehdi Taremi, the Iranian from Porto who was one step away from Milan in August. He has been in sporting director Piero Ausilio’s notebook for a long time, he was one of the names considered by Inter last summer too, when it became clear that the Lukaku deal had now collapsed. Taremi is still popular today, for its characteristics, international experience, ability to adapt to different types of games. And he has a peculiarity, a contract expiring next June which has never been renewed. Porto still wanted to make a loud statement against Milan in August, resisting. It is not certain that he will be able to do the same in January. Maybe it will also depend on the Portuguese team’s progress in the Champions League. Or by the attacker’s desire to remain without renewal. Inter is attentive to the situation. It is clear that we will eventually search for a situation that is also advantageous from an economic point of view. There is also another name not to lose sight of. Albanian Armando Broja has returned to play for Chelsea after a long injury. He too has already been followed by Inter, since he was in Holland, at Vitesse. He will have to evaluate his real use between now and January in the Blues. And it is a situation to monitor, because in case of poor continuity, Inter could be a logical solution. Relations with Chelsea have never been interrupted, the Lukaku case has not affected anything from this point of view, the loan is therefore not a possibility to be excluded. And he would fit perfectly into the discussion of market opportunities. Inter hopes not to have this type of problem. It would mean having started to really count on Arnautovic and Sanchez. Ultimately, this is what everyone hopes for, from Appiano to Viale della Liberazione. But society cannot be caught unprepared. It is right to look far ahead, this is what ambition requires.
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