Italian Journalist Mario Sconcerti: “Conte Knows Inter Need Signings, What Is Suning’s Plan For Nerazzurri Now?”

Antonio Conte would be well within his rights to have doubts about staying at Inter, according to a leading Italian journalist today.

Conte admitted last week he would need ‘clarity’ from owners Suning regarding their plans for the club ahead of next season, following a turbulent campaign full of off-field speculation.

Inter’s head coach is expected to meet club president Steven Zhang for talks when Zhang returns to Milan, where Conte will likely ask about the upcoming summer transfer window.

“Conte knows full well that Inter need reinforcements in order to become competitive in Europe,” Mario Sconcerti wrote in a column for Corriere della Sera’s print edition.

“Inter have been doing the bare minimum for eight games now; if they went into the Champions League like this, they would be in the mix with all the less-fancied teams.

“The Zhang family were absent while Inter were pulling clear at the top of Serie A and had to defer a lot of payments.

“What can they seriously offer now, for real?”

Suning are thought to be seeking a loan deal worth €250 million to guarantee that Inter meet all their financial obligations until the end of June.

Their plans for the Nerazzurri beyond that point remain unclear though, leading Sconcerti to raise serious questions over their suitability to remain in charge at the club.

“We’ve heard Inter are fairly certain of securing a financing deal from a group in America, but that would only be to buy out the minority shareholder (LionRock Capital) and invest €90 million into the club for this season, where there is still €80 million of salaries to be paid,” he continued.

“What happens after that? We’ll have a club that’s increased its overall debt by another €250 million, taking us to around €900 million in total.

“We’ve all delayed talking about this because it was important for Inter to reach the scudetto, but now it’s time to wake up and ask ourselves a different question: is it really worth Conte continuing this adventure with the Zhang family?

“What can they offer now, besides a lot of debt?”