Inter have retained just one of their veterans whose contracts were expiring, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, while Yann Sommer, Francesco Acerbi, Stefan De Vrij, and Matteo Darmian all left the club on June 30th.

According to Calciomercato, the Armenian midfielder accepted a significantly reduced rate after pocketing €4M last year. He was contemplating retirement but decided to keep going and will earn about half the previous sum in 2026/2027. Instead, the Dutch defender passed on a similar offer and quickly accepted a proposal from Panathinaikos. The two Italians plot to continue playing as well and will weigh their options in the coming days. The Nerazzurri had offered a front-office role to the fullback.

Inter aren’t moving on from their initial plan in the midfield for now. They continue to prioritize Curtis Jones despite the large gap in the negotiation with Liverpool, Corriere dello Sport informs. Nottingham Forest showed interest in him as well, as they are about to sell Elliot Anderson to Manchester City. However, the player prefers the Nerazzurri or, eventually, other sides that will participate in the UEFA Champions League. Christian Chivu directly suggested acquiring him after facing the Reds last season.

Mkhitaryan is set for his fifth campaign at San Siro, following his run at Roma and his Premier League stay at Manchester United and Arsenal. He has notched 12 goals and 21 assists in 187 tilts with the current Italian champions.

Our Take on Inter and Mkhitaryan

It’s interesting that they didn’t make an effort to keep either center-back, as it’ll increase the need to sign two reliable pieces there. Jones is more of a cherry on top to improve the midfield than a real necessity, so it’s fine to stick with that pursuit for a while longer.