Pio Esposito started the training camp with five goals in the first match against Aasen, but then failed to score in the next three friendlies against Karlsruhe, Manchester City, and Milan. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, there is no reason to worry, but the league will start in two weeks and a better condition will be needed. The imposing physique of the young striker requires more time to reach optimal form compared to teammates like Dimarco and Barella.
The newspaper analyzes the situation of the entire offensive department. Excluding the test against the German amateurs, the forwards are still at zero also because, apart from Esposito, they have played very little: Bonny only came on in the second half of the derby against Milan after just a few days of training, while the youngsters Iddrissou, Lavelli, and Mosconi did what they could. With the return of Lautaro and Thuram, Inter should start producing plays, chances, and goals in satisfactory quantity again.
For Esposito, it is still a great opportunity to seize. For himself, for the team, and also for the new National Team of Roberto Mancini, who is counting on his freshness and impetuosity to overcome their fears.
On the contract front, the renewal should arrive around mid-August. The intuition of Marotta and Ausilio, who last year secured him with a five-year deal worth 1 million net per season after 19 goals in Serie B with Spezia, served to ward off any hypothesis of a farewell. The adjustment will be substantial, a sort of promise of mutual loyalty: the salary will be almost tripled.
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