Back page On the back of a season that saw them win the Coppa Italia, finish third in Serie A and reach a Champions League final, there are reasons to suggest Inter Milan will be a real force in the Italian top flight next season.
Napoli deservedly claimed their first Serie A title in 33 years, however, it will be tough for the Azzurri to repeat the feat and Inter look to have a settled side capable of challenging for the Scudetto in 2023/24.
Inzaghi making inter a force once again
Having narrowly finished third in Serie A and winning the Coppa Italia, Inter have the chance of European success in touching distance. The Nerazzurri are currently priced at 6/1 odds to win Champions League glory, according to the outright markets, in regulation time. However, they have to get past Manchester City at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium.
Inter have won the European Cup on three previous occasions but are underdogs at 16/5, for those placing a football bet, to lift the trophy. No matter what happens in Istanbul, it has been a strong season for Inter, who have come on leaps and bounds in the last 12 months with Simone Inzaghi at the helm.
Napoli deserved plenty of praise for how they ended their league title drought but already there is change in Naples, with manager Luciano Spalletti confirming he will leave the club to have a year away from the game.
While there is also plenty of interest in the top players at Napoli’s Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, it will be a big ask for the club’s hierarchy to keep the title-winning squad together going forward. This should all play into Inter Milan’s hands, as they already have the important foundations in place for a serious title challenge next season.
Inter firepower should make rivals wary
Scoring 71 goals over the course of the 2022/23 campaign, only the eventual winners Napoli scored more goals than Inter in the Serie A. In Lautaro Martínez, Inter has one of the best strikers in Europe at present, while former Manchester City forward Edin Džeko has made a significant contribution this term to the Nerazzurri cause.
The pair look set to continue next season at the San Siro, while Romelu Lukaku’s future with Inter appears uncertain after the completion of his loan spell from Chelsea. Joaquin Correa has also been influential at Inter, just showing the strength in depth of attacking talent at Inzaghi’s disposal.
Keeping the attacking roster largely intact will be key over the summer but Inter should have a settled forward lineup for the start of the new Serie A season. Expectations will be high in the blue half of Milan, while there will be the likes of Juventus, Lazio and rivals AC Milan who will have their own ambitions of Scudetto glory next term.
It has been an exciting season with Inter Milan and now the foundations look to be in place for the club to claim that elusive 20th top-flight title in the Nerazzurri’s illustrious history.
