Inter Looking At Long Term Targets As Inzaghi Thinks Of Immediate Solution To Injury Crisis

Written By Onyeka Daniel

It’s been a turbulent last few days for reigning Serie A champions, Inter Milan as they not just lost the Supercoppa Italiana crown to their city rivals, AC Milan, but also had more Injury concerns to deal with in the face of a tough title defense.

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Yesterday, it was revealed that German defender, Yann Bisseck has joined the team’s injury list and now they Inter will have to do without both Hakan Calhanoglu and Henrikh Mkhitaryan for Sunday’s Serie A match away against Venezia after an injury to the former during the final.

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The latter later pulled up with an issue in training on Friday according to the latest updates. Calhanoglu dropped out of the Supercoppa final after just 35 minutes after coming down with an adductor injury. A similar issue kept him out of a handful of games in October.

And he also missed a few games in November with a groin injury. Mkhitaryan, meanwhile, is also suffering with fatigue in his adductor muscle, which became apparent in training on Friday ahead of the Serie A match against Venezia according to reports.

With both players expected to skip the Venezia match on Sunday as a result, Simone Inzaghi is expected to name a midfield trio of Nicolo Barella, Kristjan Asllani and Piotr Zielinski, according to a report from Gazzetta. That combination of midfielders have never started together for Inter.

This has become necessary after Davide Frattesi reportedly handed in a transfer request, leaving the team further short in the midfield and defense. Meanwhile, Samuele Ricci is top of Inter’s shortlist of candidates to replace Frattesi, whilst Genoa’s Morten Frendrup is also a target.

This according to a report from Corriere dello Sport where they stated that the Nerazzurri expect to sell and replace Frattesi in the summer. It has now become impossible for Inter to ignore the likelihood of an eventual departure of Frattesi.The 25-year-old is pushing for an exit.

He has become dissatisfied with a relative lack of playing time at Inter. Roma are the club most strongly pushing for Frattesi’s signature. The Giallorossi could even try to make a deal for Frattesi this month. However, that is not Inter’s preference, and a move next summer would be likelier than the January transfer window.

Inter want €45 million if they are to sell Frattesi to Roma, while demanding for around €70m from Napoli and Juventus. According to the report, this would be right around the right figure for Inter to spend on their preferred replacement. Samuele Ricci is a player who the Nerazzurri have had their eye on for some time.

At 23 years of age, Ricci would be the right age profile. And the Italian international’s combination of physical and technical attributes could see him slot in at either holding midfield or in a box-to-box role. Therefore, Inter would see Ricci as the ideal replacement for Frattesi.

However, Torino will not allow the 23-year-old to go for cheap. They have a minimum price tag of around €40 million, but Inter can also look to insert a player in the deal to lower the overall cost of the operation. Moreover, AC Milan are also very keen on signing Ricci.

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The Granata could be hoping that this sparks a bidding war that raises the eventual fee for Ricci. Meanwhile, the report also added that Genoa midfielder, Morten Frendrup is another player Inter see as having the ideal profile to replace Frattesi. Like Ricci, the Dane is 23 years of age, right in the age bracket the Nerazzurri would be seeking.

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