Simone Inzaghi is set to start his first season in charge of Inter Milan following his move to the club from Lazio this summer. Antonio Conte guided the club to the scudetto last season, so there are big shoes to fill for the new manager.
That being said, Inzaghi is no stranger to accolade. He’s been praised for the progress he made at Lazio in his five years in charge of the club, where he won three trophies including the 2019 Coppa Italia. Inzaghi certainly delivered while in Rome, but it remains to be seen whether he can thrive under the weight of people’s expectations at this new club.
Unfortunately, Inzaghi must face the fact that the Inter side he inherits has been stripped of some of their biggest stars from the last season. They have also seen rivals Juventus strengthen in their bid to regain the championship in Italy. Inter are currently at drifting odds of 7/2 in the Serie A football betting markets for the title in the 2021/22 campaign, while the bookmakers make Juventus the odds-on favourites to come out on top with odds of 1/1. Inzaghi will be hoping to upset the odds and help his side win back-to-back scudettos for the first time since 2010.
Inzaghi Will Be Without Hakimi And Lukaku
Achraf Hakimi and Romelu Lukaku were two of Inter’s biggest stars last season, but sadly, they’ve now joined PSG and Chelsea, respectively. It’s a far from ideal situation for Inzaghi but he must find a way to overcome these losses if the club is to prosper.
Undoubtedly, this will be difficult as the players offered a great deal to the side. For instance, Hakimi scored seven goals last year from a wing-back position and the 22-year-old played a crucial role in his side’s attack. After signing from Real Madrid in the summer of 2020, it was thought the Moroccan was going to be a big part of the club’s future, but alas, this wasn’t to be.
With regard to Lukaku, in order for Chelsea to sign the Belgium striker, they had to break the Serie A transfer record with an eye-watering fee of £97.5 million. Lukaku scored 64 goals over the last two years for Inter and the absence of his formidable presence on the pitch will certainly be felt.
Nonetheless, it’s not all doom and gloom. Inzaghi has acted by bringing in Edin Dzeko from Roma and Denzel Dumfries from PSV. The former knows this league very well: the Bosnian striker has scored 85 Serie A goals in the last six years. Meanwhile, Dumfries is an efficient player in his own right who shone at Euro 2020 and has been historically linked with a number of major clubs in Europe.
Juventus Even Stronger With Locatelli
Juventus won the race to sign Italy international Manuel Locatelli from Sassuolo over the summer. He arrives at the Old Lady on loan, though the Turin-based club are obligated to buy the midfielder at the end of this period. Locatelli was one of the stars of the European Championship for his national team manager Roberto Mancini and it was those captivating performances that caught the attention of Juventus, who moved quickly following the tournament to capture the player.
Juventus are also now coached by their former manager Massimiliano Allegri. The Italian manager is famed for guiding the club to five straight league championship wins between 2014 and 2019. In addition, his side were also the runners-up in the Champions League in 2015 and 2017. With these various successes under his belt, Allegri will be expected to help guide his team back to glory.
This new job is going to be a real test of Inzaghi’s managerial skills. If he can overcome the turbulence that Inter have suffered over the summer and defend the title, it will be a monumental achievement.
