Inter Milan: Calmly "patching up" the defense

While their major rivals encounter many difficulties in their preseason preparations, the newly crowned Inter Milan seem rather at ease. Substantial advantages enable them to approach the defense of their title with confidence, without requiring excessive spending.

Milan has splashed out 74 million euros (excluding additional fees) just to bring in striker Goncalo Ramos. Juventus has also spent roughly the same amount on the attacking duo Kolo Muani and Kerim Alajbegovic. Both of these traditional rivals have invested heavily in their forward lines, whereas that is an area that Inter does not need to worry about at all. The quartet of forwards—Lautaro Martinez, Marcus Thuram, Yoan-Ange Bonny, and Pio Esposito—is truly "overwhelming" by Serie A standards, completely outclassing even if Milan, Juventus, or Napoli continue to make more purchases.

But the defense is a different story. With a series of veteran players leaving after their contracts expired at the end of last season, the Nerazzurri's backline has become extremely thin and needs reinforcement. Goalkeeper Yann Sommer, center-backs Francesco Acerbi and Stefan De Vrij, and wing-back Matteo Darmian have all departed. Most regrettably, right-wing star Denzel Dumfries was lost to Real Madrid for a release clause considered far too cheap, just 20 million euros. The departure of the Dutch player is Inter's biggest concern, but they have yet to find a worthy replacement.

Since most of the departing players were only part of the reserve squad, Inter is not under pressure to find replacements. Goalkeeper Ivan Provedel was brought in from Lazio for just 3 million euros to serve as backup or rotate with Josep Martinez, who is trusted to take the starting spot after Sommer's departure. At only 32 years old, with extensive experience and an extremely low price, Provedel is clearly a guarantee for Inter's goal for at least another 2-3 years.

Most recently, England international John Stones has arrived from Manchester City on a free transfer, marking another success for the "good, cheap, free" policy pursued by Inter under Chairman Beppe Marotta. Juventus, Roma, and several Premier League clubs had been chasing Stones, but Inter emerged victorious. The quality, class, and experience of the 32-year-old center-back are unquestionable, and he will certainly be a fantastic addition to Inter's defense. The only concern is the player's worrisome injury history; however, Inter has been the best major club at managing injuries in Serie A over the past few seasons.

In addition to the aforementioned duo, Inter has re-signed midfielder Alexandar Stankovic (son of former midfielder Dejan Stankovic) from Club Brugge and young player Yannis Massolin from Modena.