Antonio Conte faces five key problems at the moment as Inter limp through their preseason tour of Asia, according to Corriere dello Sport.
The absence of first-choice centre-forwards and the knock-on effect this has had on training sessions is the biggest issue facing the Nerazzurri’s new head coach.
He is also not helped by the confusing situations concerning Mauro Icardi and Radja Nainggolan, though, which have compounded Inter’s inability to sell this summer.
A final issue is the length and structure of the tour in Singapore and China, which has limited Conte’s time on the training ground.
Inter have reinforced their options in defence and midfield by signing Diego Godin, Stefano Sensi, Valentino Lazaro and Nicolo Barella but Conte is still waiting for Romelu Lukaku and Edin Dzeko up front.
Samuele Longo and Sebastiano Esposito started in attack against Manchester United, but they are merely stopgaps and make it harder for Conte to properly work on his system in training.
Conte knew Lautaro Martinez and Mauro Icardi would both be missing the Asian tour for different reasons, which is why he was keen for Inter not to sell Andrea Pinamonti.
The Nerazzurri’s need to raise capital gains before 30 June left them with no option, though, despite the difficulties they are encountering for Lukaku and Dzeko.
Icardi and Nainggolan are on their way out but so are Joao Mario, Borja Valero, Dalbert and Miranda, while Ivan Perisic now seems likely to leave too.
Conte wants a tight group composed of 22-23 players but he does not have this at the moment because Inter have not sold anyone, creating distractions and disharmony.
He is not against the idea of going abroad for a money-spinning tour in an absolute sense, as he has already tried it with Juventus and Chelsea.
Inter do not have much time between their matches, though, which is something Conte will ask the club to rectify ahead of preseason next year.
