Esposito called to the test of scoring, Chivu starts him as a regular against Monza

Pio Esposito finds himself at the center of Inter‘s offensive project during this phase of summer preparation. With Lautaro and Thuram still on vacation and Bonny having just returned, the young striker has become the point of reference for the attack available to Cristian Chivu.

The pressure on him is growing ahead of the start of the championship. According to Gazzetta dello Sport, the Nerazzurri striker scored five goals in the first training match played in Germany, but then went scoreless in the next three friendlies. There is no alarm halfway through the preparation, but his goals will be needed immediately.

Chivu has made it clear that Lautaro and Thuram will most likely miss the debut on August 22 against Monza due to a lack of fitness. Inter does not want to risk its stars, who will only return to training with their teammates next week, that is, after returning from Australia. Esposito will almost certainly start the championship as a starter, never before so entrusted with responsibility since his return to the parent club.

The youngster has an imposing physique and for this reason gets into shape more slowly than teammates like Dimarco and Barella, two locker room leaders who are patiently accompanying him on his path to maturity. There is no reason to worry about his performance in front of goal: against City, in the very first minutes of the Hong Kong test, he missed an easy goal precisely due to fatigue, unable to get the timing right on a close-range deflection. At another time he would surely have celebrated a goal.