Is Inter Milan all in on Croatia?

With the summer transfer window winding down, the makeup of Inter Milan’s starting XI is taking more of a Croatian flavor.

The squad already had Ivan Perisic and Marcelo Brozovic and the addition of right back Sime Vrsaljko makes three from the country across the sea from Italy.

Now, rumors (and remember they are only rumors) are that Inter may be making a push for Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric.

Modric, the winner of the Golden Ball from the World Cup, has a solid pedigree both from his time with Real Madrid and internationally. He has been a proven leader on the pitch for Croatia in their run up to the World Cup finals.

Additionally, he has been a mainstay for Los Blancos and their three consecutive Champions League titles.

So, is Inter Milan pushing all of their chips in for a Croatian-dominated team?

Even if the rumors about Modric are not true — and there is little to suggest they actually are, but this is the transfer season so anything is possible — reuniting Vrsaljko with Perisic and Brozovic seems to be a smart move. Vrsaljko was always high on the target list for Inter as they needed to find a quality right back to replace Joao Cancelo.

The chemistry between the three was demonstrated at the World Cup, especially that of Perisic and Vrsaljko.

Both players showed their worth in Russia. According to FIFA.com, Perisic covered more than 72 kilometers of space during the tournament — more than any other player. Perisic also tallied 22 shots for the tournament — second-highest behind Neymar.

For his part, Vrsaljko, according to Opta, completed 34 open crosses, the most of any player in the tournament.

Now, these are all impressive numbers and it would seem that Luciano Spalletti and Inter management are hoping to capture those same statistics at Inter.

While it is exciting to be sure, it is important to temper these expectations. While Vrsaljko, Perisic and Brozovic have played together internationally, they have not worked together in a club. Toss in other components like Stefan De Vrij and Kwadwo Asamoah on defense and potentially Arturo Vidal in the midfield — or Modric, if you believe the rumors — and you have a lot of new pieces to try to fit into the system.

I’m not saying it won’t work, but we have to give it time to settle.

I have faith and confidence that what Spalletti and Piero Ausilio are putting together can be a special combination that could bring trophies to the San Siro, but let’s not break out the champagne just yet. There are still weeks left in the preseason and we do have an advantageous schedule to start Serie A play.

Let’s give the system time to work and we could see a lot of magic on the field in the coming months.

Of course, I could be wrong.

What do you think? Post your comments below!