Inter’s former head coach Alberto Zaccheroni is concerned Diego Godin, Stefan de Vrij and Milan Skriniar will not be able to play together.
All three are expected to start for Antonio Conte’s side this season, following Godin’s arrival from Atletico Madrid on a free transfer.
Zaccheroni told Tuttosport the Nerazzurri were still ‘a work in progress’ and raised doubts over Conte’s new all-star defensive trio.
He said: “What will happen when opposition teams play the ball behind Inter’s two wing-backs when they’re out of possession? Which of the three centre-backs will move out wide to cover?
“Godin, De Vrij and Skriniar are three ‘pure’ central defenders. None of them have the skill set of a full-back, while Danilo D’Ambrosio is a wide man but more of an attacking player.
“For how I’ve always viewed a three-man defence, you need at least one full-back-type player who can cope in a one-on-one situation against an opponent in a wide position. Conte’s Juventus had Giorgio Chiellini, for instance, who began his career at left-back.”
Zaccheroni expressed similar doubts over the prospect of a front two including Romelu Lukaku and Edin Dzeko, albeit the latter seems ever less likely to join from Roma.
“Inter won’t be short of goals if Dzeko arrives, but at that point there could be a problem related to pace,” he added.
“They will need players who are quick enough to feed him and Lukaku the ball, considering they’re two strikers who prioritise physicality over rapidity.
“I don’t think Conte’s wing-backs will spend all their time in attack, so it’ll be down to the likes of Stefano Sensi and Nicolo Barella to provide some unpredictability with their forward runs.
“Stopping two strikers as powerful as Lukaku and Dzeko could prove a real problem for opposition defences, but you need to make sure you can get the ball forward quickly.
“This is a very tall and strong Inter side but I don’t know if they’ll have enough speed in their play.”
