Despite some rumors, Inter decided not to significantly alter their defense last summer, only swapping out Manuel Akanji for Benjamin Pavard late in the window. The brass confirmed the aging Francesco Acerbi, Stefan De Vrij, and Matteo Darmian also to help their young gaffer.

That will likely change at the end of the campaign, TuttoSport informs. All three veterans are on expiring contracts, although the Nerazzurri could re-up them through some options. The Italian center-back is on Al-Hilal’s crosshair for a possible reunion with coach Simone Inzaghi.

Inter fully intend to redeem Akanji from Manchester for €15M and add some youth around him, Alessandro Bastoni and Yann Aurel Bisseck. They are laying the groundwork early to acquire Branimir Mlacic from Hajduk Split. He’s worth around €5M and is being tracked by Olympique Marseille and Liverpool too. The Nerazzurri could purchase him in January and let him finish the season in Croatia or utilize him in their U-23 squad initially. The 18-year-old has featured 15 times this campaign.

The management is looking for a pair of starting-caliber defenders. They are particularly high on Club Brugge’s Joel Ordonez. As far as Serie A is concerned, they are keen on Udinese’s Oumar Solet and Sassuolo’s Tarik Muharemovic.

Our Take on the Inter Defense

An injection of athleticism would help Christian Chivu transition to a more daring style in the back, but it’ll be challenging to buy multiple highly-rated defenders in the same window, so they might keep a veteran for depth purposes. Solet hasn’t been superb this campaign, but his talent is undeniable, while Lecce’s Tiago Gabriel and the Neroverdi center-back are clearly on the rise and would be worthy gambles.