Italian Journalist Matteo Marani: “Suning Were Always Inter’s Big Strength, Now Things Have Changed”

Inter’s owners Suning have gone from being a strength to a weakness for the club, a leading Italian journalist argued today.

The Nerazzurri’s majority shareholders are urgently seeking investors to help ease Inter’s financial problems, with a report in the Financial Times yesterday revealing Suning need a $200 million cash injection to keep the club going into next season.

It is unquestionably the most difficult period for the Chinese retail giant since they purchased Inter from Erick Thohir in the summer of 2016.

“Suning have always given the club the prospect of Inter great,” Matteo Marani told Sky Sport Italia.

“But at this moment in time, things have been turned on their head.

“Now it’s AC Milan who are investing in the transfer window midway through the season, while Inter’s spending has come to a halt.”

Inter’s worrying corporate issues provide the backdrop for tonight’s awkward trip to play Fiorentina in Serie A, with Antonio Conte’s side looking to momentarily displace their city rivals at the top of the table.

“Conte’s team are going to play at a difficult ground in what is a delicate moment for the club,” Marani continued.

“We must not forget what’s happening at Inter at the moment.

“The next two rounds of games are crucial to this season’s title race, especially in terms of the head-to-head fixtures coming up.

“Juventus and Lazio have put themselves right back in contention with good January runs, and the Biancocelesti could close the gap further when they play Cagliari on Sunday while Juve face Roma.

“Now there are six teams within 10 points of one another, so we are witnessing a sensational, unprecedented and unknown season.

“AC Milan are the only side who did any business in January and have a favourable schedule before the Milan derby on February 21.”

Marani then went on to highlight the lack of contribution that Inter have had from their summer transfer signing, pointing out that the Nerazzurri are still too reliant on the same few players.

“Inter are getting little from their new arrivals, apart from Achraf Hakimi,” he argued.

“Arturo Vidal is the biggest disappointment, he has performed below expectations.

“Aleksander Kolarov is not playing and Alexis Sanchez, who was signed on a permanent basis, is having problems.

“Inter are leaning on the likes of Nicolo Barella, Marcelo Brozovic and Romelu Lukaku who were all there last season.”

“Conte knows he will be judged this season on based whether he can go all the way to the end of the season and win the league.

“Inter’s next two matches with Fiorentina and Lazio are two important games.”