Taking over from Luciano Spalletti in the summer, Antonio Conte has done exactly what Inter wanted him to do: make them relevant at the top of the table again.
Still unbeaten in Serie A, Romelu Lukaku’s new side will now face Juventus at the weekend and will be counting on their two diminutive midfielders, Stefano Sensi and Antonio Barella, to make the difference.
However, the lack of height in the centre of the pitch is an issue Conte will want rectified at one point, with either Manchester United’s Nemanja Matić or Lazio’s Sergej Milinkovic-Savić potential targets, according to Corriere dello Sport.
The latter would be far more expensive than the former, as the veteran defensive midfielder’s contract at Old Trafford is due to expire in the summer, and it seems Ole Gunnar Solskjaer won’t be pushing for a renewal anytime soon.
United do have an option to extend his deal by a further year, which they could do if they want to make some money back from their £40m investment in 2017.
If it is triggered, they will have to be careful how much they ask for, as few clubs will want to pay over the odds for a 31-year-old whose legs appear to have (mostly) give up.
As things stand, Matić will be free in the summer of 2020, and Antonio Conte has already managed him, doing so in during the 2016-17 season in which Chelsea lifted the Premier League title.
