Inzaghi surprised by Lukaku exit
Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi said star striker Romelu Lukaku's departure came as a surprise to him, but he insisted the club are ready to defend their Serie A title this season nonetheless.
Inter kick off the new campaign at home to Genoa on Saturday in former Lazio coach Inzaghi's first season at the club having replaced Antonio Conte in the close season.
Lukaku was Inter's top goalscorer last season (24 league goals) as they stormed to their first Scudetto in 11 years, with the Belgium international named best overall MVP of Serie A, the official league award for the player of the season.
Such form persuaded Chelsea to bring Lukaku back to the Premier League for a reported club record fee of 97.5 million pounds ($132.81 million) last week, with new boss Inzaghi lining up a replacement for the Belgian.
"It was an unexpected departure, it was not planned," Inzaghi told a news conference on Friday.
"We tried to persuade him to stay but the boy was very determined. I understand why he is so appreciated by everyone, he came to me with a lot of intelligence and told me that Chelsea were his dream and that his decision had been made.
"We talked together with the directors but he had already decided. Now (Edin) Dzeko has arrived and another striker will arrive, too."
Inter also lost livewire defender Achraf Hakimi to Paris St Germain, with midfielder Christian Eriksen in Denmark being monitored by doctors following his cardiac arrest suffered on the pitch during Euro 2020.
Inzaghi still feels his side are well prepared. "We will do everything to ensure that things go well this season," he added.
"It is a season where there will be difficulties but I am confident. The goal is tomorrow's match against Genoa. Something is missing from the (transfer) market but I am happy with what we have done so far.
"We knew we would have problems, we had to sell Hakimi, we will not have Eriksen and then the unexpected sale of Lukaku came. But the boys have worked hard and we are determined to do our best to defend the Scudetto we have on our chest."
相关文章
The AI stock bubble has burst. Here's how we know.
When you live in tech bubble central, signs of a tech bubble become easier to spot every time. Drive2024-09-21NASA just announced an ambitious date to launch its Artemis 1 mission to the moon
NASA is shooting for the moon in terms of ambitious scheduling.Its associate administrator for explo2024-09-21CNBC segment goes off the rails with barking dogs, man in underwear
Working from home is great for so many reasons: no commuting, saving money by making your own lunch,2024-09-21当广东“吃货”遇上东北“吃货”,广东展团即将亮相第十三届辽宁农博会!
酸甜可口的新鲜橙柚、芳香四溢的新会陈皮、琳琅满目的粤味预制菜……这些平时可能要跑好几个原产地才能淘到的正宗产品,只需要到一个展会就能全部购齐!9月22-25日,第十三届辽宁国际农业博览会暨第二十三届沈2024-09-21Essential Apps to Install on your Windows PC or Mac
You just bought a new laptop, built a new desktop PC, or are simply clean installing on a new solid2024-09-21How to mark an iMessage as unread in iOS 16
Imagine: You're out and about, busy as a bee. You get a text. You have no time to craft a thoughtful2024-09-21
最新评论