Luciano Spalletti has found a new and stronger motivation within himself and now he expects to see a similar response from his players, especially those in attack, namely, Mauro Icardi, Radja Nainggolan and Ivan Perisic according to Corriere dello Sport who have analysed each of the players current situations:
Icardi – A striker who does not score is automatically open to criticism. He is also the captain of a team who is enduring difficulty and should take some responsibility for their fragility. On top of this, his wife is extremely active on social media and television, all while try to negotiate the terms of her husbands contract renewal, so controversy becomes a constant. Perhaps, it would be wise for Icardi and Inter to put aside all the extras until his on the pitch performances have improved. Inter needs to win and to do this Icardi has to score. Can he return to form against Parma?
Nainggolan – The Ninja returned to the starting line up against Bologna. The last team this happened was against Chievo on December the 22nd. In the aftermath of that game it was revealed that the Belgian was suspended and fined for repeatedly turning up late for training. He sat out Napoli and made his return against Empoli as a substitute to close out the victory from Keita’s winning goal, assisted by Vrsaljko. Then, after the holidays, he began a specialised training programme which should of return him back to his best physical condition but after 4 weeks we are still waiting to see his best and for Inter it would be the solution to many of their problems.
Perisic – Against Bologna, Perisic showed his professionalism, as he endured constant whistles from fans, showing commitment and sacrifice. Unfortunately, it was far from the type of performance that would win back the fans. He made several crosses and as a result wasted a lot of attacks, but he did not give up. This is was a positive sign for Spalletti, who hopes he can return to normality. His attitude and habits have been called into question by some of his teammates but he has always remained a starter, without ever being questioned and for this it is easy to understand why he does not always get along with his teammates, who likely resent him. Now even more since he was close to leaving midway through the season.
