Ivan Perisic will begin fighting for his Inter future today as preseason training begins under Antonio Conte, Gazzetta dello Sport reported this morning.
Conte emphasised the importance of putting the team in front of the individual during yesterday’s press conference, leading the paper to focus on the much-maligned Croatian.
Perisic had interest from several clubs abroad last summer and asked to leave Inter in January, but Beppe Marotta and Luciano Spalletti convinced him to stay.
The forward has never performed consistently for the Nerazzurri, though, and will be under intense scrutiny from Conte in Lugano this week.
Lautaro Martinez will not return from his summer holidays until the end of July but he too will be closely evaluated by Conte in training.
El Toro will lose his compatriot and close friend Mauro Icardi up front but he could face equally tough competition for a place in the starting XI, if Inter complete deals for Edin Dzeko and Romelu Lukaku.
As far as Inter’s defence is concerned, Conte is said to be a big admirer of Alessandro Bastoni and will give the young Italian plenty of space this season.
Bastoni will miss the training camp in Switzerland after representing Italy at the European Under-21 Championships, but he is set for a big season with the Nerazzurri.
Joao Miranda will almost certainly leave before the new Serie A campaign begins, meanwhile, after Conte failed to mention the Brazilian when discussing his options at the back yesterday.