How Inter Milan could line up this season with Manchester United man Alexis Sanchez and new signing Romelu Lukaku
Inter Milan somewhat lost their way after winning Serie A, the Coppa Italia and the Champions League in 2009/10 in an astonishing treble under Jose Mourinho.
They’ve failed to win a league title since with Juventus bossing things over the last eight seasons and success elsewhere has been a struggle for them in recent times.
In fact, the last time Inter lifted a trophy was the Coppa Italia in 2011.
But their fortunes could be about to change ten years on from their magical 2009/10 campaign.
It’s been a busy summer at the club as they prepare for another season competing for the spots high in the Serie A table and in the Champions League.
They’ve hired former manager of Chelsea, Juventus and the Italy national team Antonio Conte as their new boss.
Inter have also shown plenty of ambition in the transfer market with their standout signing coming in the form of striker Romelu Lukaku, a player Conte has always rated, whom they bought from Manchester United for a fee believed to be in the region of £72million.
United forward Alexis Sanchez has also been linked with a loan move to the San Siro before the European transfer window closes on September 2.
If they can get Sanchez in and the Chilean rediscovers his form from before he moved to Old Trafford then Inter will surely be competing at a very high level in 2019/20.
So talkSPORT.com has taken a look at how Inter could line up with Lukaku and Sanchez as well as with some of their other summer signings including midfielder Nicolo Barrella.
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Option 1 (3-5-1-1)
Conte loves to play three centre-backs with wing-backs so Inter should line up like that in the season coming.
There’s competition at the left wing-back slot between Dalbert and Kwadwo Asamoah, however, we’ve gone for Dalbert to begin with as he’s had a run of games in pre-season and is a more natural option in that position because Asamoah sometimes plays in midfield.
In midfield, Croatia international Marcelo Brozovic could play alongside Barella, who has moved to the San Siro on a season-long loan with an option to buy next year.
Meanwhile, another loan signing in Stefano Sensi could be given a spot in midfield as he’s featured in some of Inter’s pre-season matches.
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Up top is where big changes could be happening with Mauro Icardi’s future at the club still looking very unclear, while Ivan Perisic has joined Bayern Munich on loan.
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If Icardi leaves, Lukaku will probably lead the line and this could give Sanchez an opening to play just off the Belgian in a No.10 role.
Inter do have other attacking options including 17-year-old striker Sebastiano Esposito, who could do with some more experience.
Striker Lautaro Martinez made 27 appearances for Inter last season but only scored six goals, while winger Matteo Politano, who signed on a permanent deal this summer, had a return of five goals in 36 appearances in 2018/19.
Option 2 (3-4-1-2)
However, despite all the talk that Icardi has no future at the Nerazzuri, he still is an Inter player, and you can never say never in football.
An Icardi/Lukaku partnership up front has the potential to be a huge threat to opponents, especially with the prospect of Sanchez playing just behind him.
If the Argentine works his way back into the team this might come at the expense of Sensi.
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