Ljajic sends a message to Mancini

It has previously been noted that Adem Ljajic has received very limited playing time since his arrival from Roma. Some have chalked this up to Mancini wanted to stick with what got him the 5 wins in a row at the start of the season, others have said this is due to Ljajic's poor attitude and efforts put in during training sessions. I said at the end of my previous post on Ljajic that he needed to improve quickly, and it looks like he might have taken those words to heart.

Ljajic received a call-up to the Serbian national team during this international break and played in their first match against Albania. Throughout this match he was a live-wire; he scored in the 36th minute but the goal was ruled out for a foul on the goalkeeper by another Serbian player. He was not going to be denied though and got a goal and an assist for the team's 2-0 victory.

After the match Ljajic told the press how fit he is feeling but then specifically talked about how he hoped Inter had watched his performance in the game. He talked about how he enjoys playing behind the striker and also expressed hopes that he would get a chance to play in the Inter-Juventus match. Given his preference to play in the hole if Mancini wants to stick with the 4312 formation rather than a 433 or 4231 then it might make more sense to play Ljajic in that role rather than Perisic (especially since the match against Sampdoria showed how much more effective the Croatian plays when out on the wing).

Ljajic has another chance to showcase his talents to Mancini when Serbia play against Portugal on Sunday. Another solid performance will definitely go a long way in his fight for a starting spot at Inter.