Inter’s decision to sign Nicolò Barella was praised by the Nerazzurri’s former player and coach Marco Tardelli today, who described the midfielder as ‘one of Serie A’s rising stars’.
Barella completed a medical on Friday morning and should be officially announced as Inter’s fourth summer signing tonight.
Tardelli said the 22-year-old had made huge improvements over the last few years, assuring supporters he was ready to join the Nerazzurri.
“Barella is one of the best young players in Europe at the moment,” the 1982 World Cup winner told Gazzetta dello Sport.
“He’s a very important investment and Inter will make a step forward with him in their team.”
Tardelli praised Inter’s new policy of signing young Italian players, having brought in Barella and Stefano Sensi in the space of two weeks.
The former midfielder also approved of Antonio Conte’s plans to find new positions for Marcelo Brozovic and Ivan Perisic.
“If Conte moves Brozovic into the ‘mezzala’ position to make room for Sensi I think it will be a correct call, because he’s more of a forward runner than a play-maker,” Tardelli added.
“He arrived in Italy as an attacking midfielder and has a knack of scoring goals. It’s probably more suited to him than the central role.
“Moving Perisic to wing-back is a fascinating experiment as well. He’s strong and has good stamina but he will need to manage his energy levels and provide the team with balance.
“It’s a calculated risk given the three defenders he will have behind him, though.”
Tardelli backed Conte and Beppe Marotta to introduce a new mentality at Inter and said they were building ‘a great team’.
