Inter Milan transfer window priorities: Lukaku and Dybala might be coming, who will be sold to afford them?

In his first season with Inter Milan Simone Inzaghi won two titles, the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana. However, Nerazzurri failed to win the Scudetto while crosstown rivals AC Milan won the league for the first time in eleven years. Inzaghi was appointed one year ago after Antonio Conte decided to leave the club at the end of the title-winning 2020/21 season. Last summer Inter had to sell two key players, Romelu Lukaku and Achraf Hakimi, and lost Christian Eriksen as well. This summer things look better and the club is working hard to sign few players and improve the squad. 

At the same time, Inter Milan still need to look at the financial balance and for this reason it will be very likely that one of the top players of the past season will leave the club in the summer. Here’s how Inter Milan are currently working in the summer transfer window.  

Inter goalkeeper outlook

• Staying: Samir Handanovic, Alex Cordaz
• Leaving: Ionit Radu 
• Arriving: Andre Onana

Inter Milan’s captain Samir Handanovic has extended his deal at the club until summer 2023 and will keep his role next season. At the same time, the Nerazzurri have signed Andre Onana as a free agent and he will try to compete with Handanovic for the starter’s job. Alex Cordaz will also stay at the club for a further year as the club’s third keeper. 

Ideal moves: With another goalkeeper coming, Ionit Radu is expected to leave the club this summer. He was part of the first team in the past two seasons and he’s now looking for a new opportunity. Both Empoli and Cremonese have shown interest and he’s likely to leave Inter Milan on loan.  

Inter defense outlook

• Staying: Federico Dimarco, Stefan de Vrij, Danilo D’Ambrosio 
• Leaving: Andrea Ranocchia, Aleksandar Kolarov
• Uncertain future: Alessandro Bastoni, Milan Skriniar 

There is some uncertainty regarding some key players in this part of the roster. At the same time there are other players that will stay at the club without a doubt, like Federico Dimarco and Danilo D’Ambrosio, who showed that they can always be useful when they are called in action. De Vrij is also expected to stay, as of the three starters he’s the one with the least transfer interest as things stand. Andrea Ranocchia and Aleksandar Kolarov will leave the club after the end of their contract agreements with the club this summer. 

Ideal moves: With attackers likely arriving, Alessandro Bastoni and Milan Skriniar, who have attracted interest from a number of top European clubs, could be sold to facilitate purchases. They are the main candidates to leave the club, allowing Inter to balance the books this summer. Only one of the two will leave the club, if the right bid arrives in the coming weeks. While Paris Saint Germain approached Inter for Milan Skriniar, former Nerazzurri coach Antonio Conte is desperate to bring Alessandro Bastoni to Tottenham. Neither of the players have expressed a desire to leave Inter this summer, but the club might be forced to make a hard decision soon. If one of them leaves, Inter Milan have already swooped for Torino defender Gleison Bremer and asked for information about Fiorentina’s center back Nikola Milenkovic. 

Inter wingers outlook

• Staying: Matteo Darmian, Robin Gosens
• Leaving: Ivan Perisic
• Uncertain future: Denzel Dumfries

In the 3-5-2 of Simone Inzaghi, the two wingers are crucial for the tactical system and the way the team plays. Ivan Perisic decided to leave the club at the end of his contract and signed with Tottenham. Matteo Darmian and Robin Gosens, who was signed last January, will definitely stay. Gosens, the former Atalanta winger, will be the starter on the left and will replace Perisic who he backed up over the past six months. 

Ideal moves: Denzel Dumfries is not sure to stay at the club after arriving last summer from PSV to replace Hakimi. The Dutch winger has attracted interest from some European clubs, including Chelsea and his future might be linked with Romelu Lukaku, as reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport. At the same time Inter Milan are working to sign another winger and talks are on with Cagliari for Raoul Bellanova and with Genoa for Andrea Cambiaso. Inter also met the agents of the left back Destiny Udogie but at the moment Udinese are asking around €20 million and this might be a deal for the future. 

Inter midfield outlook

• Staying: Hakan Calhanoglu, Marcelo Brozovic, Nicolò Barella
• Leaving: Stefano Sensi, Arturo Vidal, Matias Vecino 
• Uncertain future: Roberto Gagliardini

All the three starters are expected to stay. Hakan Calhanoglu, Marcelo Brozovic and Nicolò Barella will stay at the club unless something unexpected happens in the coming weeks but the plan for the club is to keep all of them. Arturo Vidal and Matias Vecino will definitely leave Inter this summer, and the club will also try to find a new club to Stefano Sensi, with AC Monza interested in him. Roberto Gagliardini is expected to stay as backup of Barella, but he might also be included in some deals if the right opportunity comes along. 

Ideal moves: With Arturo Vidal and Matias Vecino leaving, Inter need to find some alternatives to the starters and the main arrival is Empoli’s Kristjan Asllani who is on the verge of becoming a new Nerazzurri who the club has agreed on a transfer fee for. It’s also likely that Inter will need another midfielder but that might have to wait for the last few weeks of the transfer window.  

Inter attack outlook

• Staying: Lautaro Martinez, Joaquin Correa 
• Leaving: Alexis Sanchez, Felipe Caicedo 
• Uncertain future: Edin Dzeko 

A lot of things are expected to happen here. Lautaro Martinez, despite interest from many European clubs, has no intention of leaving Inter Milan. Joaquin Correa, who arrived last summer is in the same boat. Alexis Sanchez is expected to leave the club but no bids are on the table yet. Felipe Caicedo won’t stay after the loan of the last six months and will be back to Genoa. 

Ideal moves: Let’s take a look on what can happen here. Inter Milan are eyeing two incredible signings: Romelu Lukaku and Paulo Dybala. The former Juventus player is close to joining the Nerazzurri as a free agent and there are talks ongoing between the club and his agent, who was in Milan last week and will have soon another meeting with Inter’s CEO Beppe Marotta to try to agree for a four-year deal. In the past few days Inter have also become increasingly confident of signing Romelu Lukaku for the second time. After leaving the club last summer to join Chelsea for a record €115 million fee, the player himself is pushing to be back at Inter on loan and he’s personally talking with the new ownership of the English side to make it happen. Inter Milan are open to pay a loan fee and it’s now down to the two clubs to find a solution in the coming days. Edin Dzeko might be the one to leave the club if both of the stars arrive in the summer.