Welcome to Inter: Nemanja Vidic

Nemanja Vidic concluded his deal to join Inter in much the same vein as his playing style: no nonsense and with minimal fuss.

The 32-year-old confirmed in February that he would be leaving Manchester United before revealing Appiano Gentile as his new destination three months later.

The captain dutifully played out the remainder of the season and received three standing ovations in his last game for the Red Devils.

And rightfully so as the Serbian led them to five Premier League titles and one Champions League crown while putting his body on the line time and time again for the club.

I'm hoping Vidic's move works out the same way as the one made by another intimidating Manchester United centre back in 2001.

The English club also thought that particular defender was past his prime and let him go to Italy where he starred with Lazio and Milan for another five seasons.

Jaap Stam was three years younger when he moved to Serie A but there are enough similarities to keep me hopeful.

The Nerazzurri didn't splash the cash for Vidic and these types of low risk, high reward signings can pay instant dividends. Works for me.  

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COST

Free. If Vidic can stay healthy we'll look back at this as one of the steals of the summer. There are some red flags but this isn't too much of a gamble.

STRENGTHS

Vidic is many things but is mostly fearless, courageous, powerful, aggressive and strong in the air. He has all the characteristics you want from a centre back and most importantly doesn't wear neon green boots, which is a disease many modern day defenders suffer from.     

WEAKNESSES

His lack of pace might pose a problem and he's injury prone. He once played on the same national team as Zdravko Kuzmanovic. So there's that unfortunately.

REMINDS ME OF

Giuseppe Bergomi. Seems like sacrilege on first mention but it's a legitimate comparison. He's a tough as nails, throwback central defender, who doesn't suffer fools kindly. Throw bravery, aerial dominance and loyalty into the mix and you get the idea.

BORN TO PLAY FOR INTER

Vidic reportedly spurned Juventus and Milan to join Inter, so he's already well versed in the good vs evil struggle in Italy. He joins Dejan Stankovic and Sinisa Mihajlovic as past Serbian greats at Appiano Gentile.

If that's not enough he also had a go at Patrice Evra, which would be a massive mismatch but one that I would love to witness firsthand because Evra is one of the biggest fugazis in the history of fugazis and deserves a punch in the mouth.

HATERS GONNA HATE

Vidic's naysayers will be quick to point out that he's way past his expiration date and will use his last three injury-riddled years to reinforce their point. They will bring up that he's lost a step and can't keep up with fleet-footed strikers. His critics will argue that United wouldn't have let him go if he still had some gas in the tank.

NICKNAME

The 'Serbinator' is a good one although Novak Djokovic may not be impressed. The 'Punisher' could also work as Vidic bears a striking resemblance to Dolph Lundgren.

PREDICTED OUTPUT

Thirty Serie A appearances would be one of the best case scenarios, but I would be happy with 25 and a few more starts in the Europa League.