Considered the strongest and most complete in the entire Serie A, and also among the best in Europe, Inter‘s midfield is undoubtedly a strength for Simone Inzaghi‘s team. We analyzed this department with a magnifying glass in the latest content produced on Passione Inter’s Youtube channel.
A proper early season report card, in which we analyzed the performance of all the Inter players: from the six natural midfielders, to the full-backs.
Let’s start with Federico Dimarco, who is clearly the best Inter player overall – even considering the other departments – this season. He has reached a high level of maturity and, despite the challenges he has been called due to the injury of Carlos Augusto and the long absence of Buchanan, he has always maintained a high level.
Without overdoing it, the beginning of Darmian‘s season was more than sufficient: a reliable player who in certain games finds the space for the right move. Conversely, Denzel Dumfries is improving: after a start to the season as a reserve, his condition has improved in recent weeks. Even though there have been some missteps, he is a valuable asset to Inzaghi when he’s fit.
Moving on to the pure midfielders, at the top of the performance chart we undoubtedly find Calhanoglu and Barella. The Turkish midfielder is absolutely essential for this team, as felt during the weeks he was out injured. Apart from the penalty miss against Napoli, very few mistakes from him so far. Similar story for Barella, who is increasingly a stabilizer for this Inter team. He has lost a bit in offensive terms compared to the past, but for the Inter’s gameplay, he is an indispensable resource. The experiment in front of the defense during Calhanoglu‘s absence also passed.
Davide Frattesi is somewhere between 6.5 and 7: the former Sassuolo player is finally getting more playing time compared to last season, without giving up his extraordinary scoring ability. However, he still needs to work on his impetuosity which in certain games, such as the one drawn with Juventus, is not always useful.
Mkhitaryan and Zielinski both fully meet expectations. The Armenian seems slightly declining compared to the remarkable season played last year. The Polish player, the only new face in midfield, is cautiously beginning to gauge his space. We expect from him an evolution ‘à la Mkhitaryan‘ in Inzaghi’s hierarchy over time.
Finally, the only deferred one who is seriously at risk of ending up on the market is Asllani. Indeed, it has been a negative start to the season for him due to injuries and insufficient performances. For the Albanian midfielder, it’s a kind of ultimatum from Inzaghi and the management: if he doesn’t provide adequate technical guarantees by the end of the sports year, Inter will look for other talents to partner with Calhanoglu.
