Inter-Napoli, will Lukaku start on January 4? Inzaghi and the doubt in attack

Romelu Lukaku works hard. The disappointment of the World Cup is erased with a lot of sweat and sore muscles from work on the training ground, that of Appiano Gentile. As the days go by, Belgium will become a very bitter memory, as will the missed opportunities in Qatar from the Inter centre-forward: the hope, in Milan, is that the 29-year-old will make up for the arrears with the Nerazzurri shirt, perhaps even starting with his first official match of 2023. On 4 January, in fact, Napoli is expected at the Giuseppe Meazza.

The target

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Considering that against Morocco and Croatia Giuseppe Marotta’s summer coup grinded 53 minutes – plus steals – on the pitch, at the moment there are all the conditions to believe that in three abundant weeks Lukaku will be able to have at least 70-80 minutes of energy and breath in the body: therefore, starter against Luciano Spalletti’s team. It is the challenge to the leaders, a game that could set Inter’s goals for the rest of the championship: with a win the gap would be shortened to 8 points, with a defeat it would even amount to 14 points after only 16 days. Definitely too much to keep the Scudetto in the wishes of Samir Handanovic and his companions. Underlining the obvious importance of Inter-Naples, the centrality of having a full-fledged Lukaku should also be highlighted. Against such a fit team it would obviously be essential to have a battering ram capable of unhinging the defense of the leaders. Currently, the Belgian’s record against the Neapolitans speaks of 3 goals in 4 previous championship matches: always decisive goals for the three points, always in Serie A first leg matches. There is enough reasons to sacrifice every ounce of energy in Appiano Gentile.

Partners wanted

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If a Lukaku in form cannot be kept aside, some doubts may arise around a post-World Cup and post-holiday Lautaro Martinez. As far as the Bull is essential for Simone Inzaghi’s offensive phase, it should in fact be considered that Argentina will play their last match between 17 (final for third place) and 18 December (final): if we add the ten canonical days of rest that are up to every Inter player after the World Cup, we get to 28-29. It is therefore less than a week to perfect the physical condition and aim for Napoli. In case of great form he will be the one to support Lukaku, but the coach is already ready to consider at least two alternatives. The first is the one tested in the friendly against Salzburg: Henrikh Mkhitaryan as second striker, a role that the Armenian has in his ropes and which gave him his satisfaction in the friendly. The Edin Dzeko solution is more classic, the man who actually replaced the Belgian in the summer of 2021 and who however – for this reason – never collaborated with him. Only 23 minutes into the first day of the championship, against Lecce. In that match Inzaghi had decided to insert the Bosnian in the second half in place of Hakan Calhanoglu when the match was in the balance after goals from Lukaku himself and Assan Ceesay. In short, a 23-minute long collaboration to be exhibited in the fiery debut of 2023: a gamble, perhaps, but an option not to be underestimated. The unknown can flop like sparks, the border is thin but very important.