Inter Serie A 2023-24 season preview, predictions: Simone Inzaghi's team look like Scudetto contenders

The Nerazzurri have added some quality players as they look to reach the summit

By Francesco Porzio

Aug 15, 2023 at 11:28 am ET • 3 min read

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The 2022-23 season was a quite successful one for Inter, despite a disappointing Serie A campaign. The Nerazzurri reached the final of the UEFA Champions League and only lost to Manchester City in Istanbul, and they also won both the Supercoppa Italiana against AC Milan and the Coppa Italia final against Fiorentina. However, Simone Inzaghi's side had some issues during the Serie A season, as Inter lost 12 games out of the 38 they played in the league. Inter ended up third in the league, behind Napoli and Lazio, but the feeling is that they could definitely do much more. In fact, Inter aim to be back and fight to win the title in the upcoming season, with the dream of reaching the second star, meaning twenty Serie A titles. Both Inter and AC Milan are now tied at 19 titles in their history, and this might be the season that one of the two could finally reach this important mark.

Here's what to know ahead of the season beginning this weekend:

Summer transfer business

It was an intense summer window so far for Inter which had to deal with some expected and unexpected exits after reaching the UEFA Champions League final against Manchester City. Inter, in fact, saw some key players of the past seasons leaves as free agents like former captain Samir Handanovic, defender Danilo D'Ambrosio who joined Monza alongside Roberto Gagliardini, Edin Dzeko who signed for Fenerbahce and Milan Skriniar who decided to not extend his deal with the Italian club and joined PSG this summer.

But that's not it. Inter decided to sell two key players of the past seasons, goalkeeper Andre Onana to Manchester United for around €55 million and midfielder Marcelo Brozovic to Al-Nassr for €18 million. In one summer, Inter sold or did not extend the contracts of at least four regular starters, plus Romelu Lukaku. Inter have pulled out of the race to re-sign Lukaku from Chelsea this summer after the player had initial talks with Juventus for a potential transfer. After the Nerazzurri agreed terms with Chelsea for the Belgian striker for around €35 million, the agent of the player, Sebastien Ledure, didn't finalize the agreement between the Italian club and Lukaku while having initial talks with multiple clubs including AC Milan and Juventus.

Inter, still looking for a replacement for Lukaku, signed free agents Juan Cuadrado from Juventus and Marcus Thuram to replace Edin Dzeko. The Nerazzurri decided to sign Yann Sommer from Bayern Munich for €6 million to replace Andre Onana but made the most important investments in the midfield. Former Sassuolo player Davide Frattesi joined the Italian giants for a deal worth around €35 million and Lazar Samardzic from Udinese for around €22 million, add-ons included.

What to expect from Inter

They are expected to have a better performance in the league, with the club aspiring to win the 20th title and reach the second star. It will be difficult to do better in all the other competitions, as Inter won both the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italian in the past year and unexpectedly reached the final of the Champions League. Inter's main target for the season has to be winning the Serie A title. However, the roster changed a lot in the summer, and it won't be easy for Inzaghi to put everything together in the short term. If he does, Inter will be the main candidate to win the Scudetto this season.

Three players to watch out

Yann Sommer: The replacement for Andre Onana, he was one of the best goalkeepers last season in Europe. It won't be easy for the former Bayern Munich player, but he has the experience and the skills to make a huge impact.

Davide Frattesi: The former Sassuolo midfielder is considered one of the best talents of Italian soccer and his natural position is the one of Nicolò Barella. However, we are expecting to see him playing a lot on the left alongside Hakan Calhanoglu.

Lautaro Martinez: The new captain of the club, more than ever, he's now the point of reference for the attacking line of the team. If he scores 5-10 goals more over the season, he can take the step forward everyone is expecting from him into stardom.