With the international break threatening to lull us into a deep boredom, we decided to take a quick jump into the future and to the January transfer window. Three months of the season have now come and gone, so the strengths and shortcomings of the current squad are fairly well documented. Our latest roundtable looks at how we would fix the problems ailing Simone Inzaghi and Company.

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Who should Inter target in the January transfer window?

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1. What would be your dream signing?
2. What about a more realistic pick?
3. Is there any specific area where Simone Inzaghi’s side needs to be strengthened?

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Michael:

Inter need to be after some sort of tall, physical striker that can be a focal point off the bench. Not a very sexy role, but when Edin Dzeko has not been on the pitch, Inter have suffered with no focal point up top to win headers when the defense clears to relieve pressure. Other strike partnerships without Dzeko, such as Lautaro Martinez and Joaquin Correa or Lautaro and Alexis Sanchez, have failed to take off.

Inzaghi’s Lazio won the aerial ball in the midfield consistently, but that is not what Inter’s midfield specializes in, so that guy up front is all the more important. Concerningly, we have yet to see any links to such a striker so far this season. Over the summer, the names that could have filled this role were Gianluca Scamacca and Wout Weghorst. Neither Sassuolo nor Wolfsburg are likely to let their starting strikers go midseason, so perhaps a realistic pick would be someone like the out of favor Luka Jovic on loan from Real Madrid.

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InterPool:

KOSTIC KOSTIC KOSTIC

Just kidding... kind of. I still maintain that Kostic is currently the best wingback in the entire world, but Perisic and Dimarco are both pretty talented options at LWB as well.

If the “dream” can be completely unconstrained by the whole pesky “reality” thing... then I’d say the obvious choices would be Messi, Lewandowski, or Haaland.

As for an area of the pitch that needs strengthening... our squad is in a strange transition phase this season. At least three starters are genuinely world-class (which I loosely define as being about top ten in the world at each player’s specific position/role) and currently in their prime — Brozovic, Skriniar, and De Vrij.

At least three more are still a couple of years away from their prime, but already arguably world-class at what they do — Bastoni, Lautaro, and of course Barella (a case could be made for Dimarco as well, at least in terms of talent, although I don’t think he has developed enough consistency YET).

Several others have world-class talent at their very best, but for various reasons — past their prime age, injury-prone, and/or simply inconsistent — can’t be counted on to perform at that level consistently. This list includes Dzeko, Perisic, Alexis, Vidal, Handanovic, possibly Correa, and (at least so far) Calhanoglu.

Nearly everyone else in the squad is adequate, but not outstanding... so although this might be a cop out, I’d say “depth” is the area we could strengthen — perhaps in a swap deal plus cash to upgrade on pretty much any of those other rotational options — at basically any position group except CB.

Or we could just get Icardi!!!!!!!!!!

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David:

I would love someone like Jovic or Belotti, but the only way that happens is if we manage to offload Alexis Sanchez and his massive salary. We already have four strikers for two spots but that’s slightly misleading - as Michael said, no one can replicate what Dzeko brings to the table and so far a Lautaro/Correa/Sanchez partnership hasn’t shown much promise. Missed chances are going to be a theme this season, especially with the likes of Lautaro and Correa, so a pure finisher has to be pretty high on Beppe Marotta’s list. There’s been a lot of talk about Giacomo Raspadori, but he’s unlikely to leave Sassuolo midseason, nor do I think he’s ready for the big stage anytime soon. So Belotti is my “dream signing”.

As for a realistic pick, I don’t think Jovic to the San Siro (it just might be with Milan however) is that far from reality. Torino and Urbano Cairo are a pain to negotiate with so any move for Belotti will have to wait until summer when he’s a free agent. Both Milanese clubs are interested in Jovic according to reports so it’s just a matter of how serious Inter is about bringing in the Serbian.

Looking at the squad overall, I agree with InterPool that depth is a concern. The drop-off in quality between the starters and bench players is pretty stark. I would love Torino center-back Bremer and he has all of the quality eventually take over a starting role in the back three.

Nahitan Nandez would be a great addition as well, and he could potentially start at either right-wingback or in midfield. Barella and Brozovic are in danger of being overused and none of the side pieces (Calhanoglu, Vecino, Gagliardini) have impressed enough to be relied on as a regular starter.

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What do you think?

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Who would be on your shopping list if you were Beppe Marotta? Let us know in the comments below.

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