One of the rules expressed by Oaktree when it arrived in Milan as the new owner of Inter last summer was undoubtedly to instruct its directors on a gradual rejuvenation of the Nerazzurri squad. In fact, the squad available to Simone Inzaghi this season proved to be one of the oldest in terms of average age in the entire Italian championship.

Hence the need to reflect on some players who may have reached the end of their cycle, or who have underperformed up to this point in the season. Let’s look at which current ‘senators’ of Inzaghi’s squad might actually say goodbye at the end of this year.

Let’s start from the back where Yann Sommer, as already repeatedly assured by the Nerazzurri directors, will be the guardian of the goal at least until June 2026, the year his contract expires. If the Swiss is pretty sure of the spot, the one at risk is one of the two centers of the Nerazzurri’s rearguard.

Although the club has already moved to activate the renewal clauses until 2026 of their respective contracts, one between Stefan de Vrij and Francesco Acerbi could say goodbye. Here is certainly not in question the performance of the two defenders, but the fact that they are both advanced in the years and no longer flawless from a physical point of view. The Italian’s continuous ailments this season, in particular, suggest that he could be the big sacrifice.

Surprisingly, two midfield senators may not be so sure to stay. Let’s start with Mkhitaryan, a player whom Simone Inzaghi has hardly given up during his years in Milan, but slightly declining in performance this season. The recent controversy sparked from his post-Juventus statements, furthermore, have reignited the debate about his future. The Armenian, however, is contractually tied to Inter until June 2026 and is unlikely to come to an early resolution, given the importance he continues to hold in the squad.

Another issue is linked to Hakan Calhanoglu. Inter has already rejected, on the eve of the Euros, an attempt by Bayern Munich towards him. Faced with a new assault for the Turkish midfielder, the position of the Nerazzurri club could be different. Also in this case, the many absences in the last year recorded by the former Milan due to repeated injuries weigh heavily.

Lastly, excluding from this list ‘marginal’ players such as Correa and Arnautovic who are still under contract, another locker room leader talked about in the market is Marcus Thuram. Compared to the teammates mentioned earlier, in addition to being younger, he is considered central to Inter’s project. However, there exists a clause of 85 million euros that could take him away from Milan at any time. For this reason, as we revealed weeks ago, the club has already moved to renew his contract and eliminate this option.