Inter awaits the real Radja Nainggolan. The Belgian – the crown jewel of the Nerazzurri’s summer market – is clearly not yet in the optimal condition after the muscle problem he picked up on July 18th in the friendly match with Sion.
It is form that will come back only by working at Appiano and by putting the minutes in on the pitch during matches. Luciano Spalletti waits for his ‘assailant’ to arrive at 100%, without forgetting that even Mauro Icardi – another strong link in the team’s backbone – has had some recent injury problems.
In short, there is not only a delay on the athletic level, but also a slowdown in building the technical and tactical understanding between the Ninja and Maurito, which is the axis through which the Nerazzurri offensive movements should develop – explains Corriere dello Sport.
It’s true that the wings remain fundamental, as demonstrated by the many wide players that Spalletti wanted to buy, but then the ball must get in the middle and there cannot then only be Icardi.
Against Parma and, above all, against Tottenham, it has been seen most clearly as Nainggolan and Maurito they did not yet understand how to find each other most effectively. They should move in sync, exchanging positions when necessary for the passage of play, but also moving away, with the Argentinian going deep to dictate the passage and the Belgian midfielder to press forward as quickly as possible.
It is a question of working out each other’s movements, because when you know a partner properly, then you also know where to find each other, without necessarily raising your head to look for them. Here the Ninja and Maurito still do not have this kind of knowledge of each other yet, and the reason is that they worked too little together. From this point of view, time will be the best medicine.
