Matteo Darmian is only the latest example of how Antonio Conte is improving his players at Inter, according to a report in the Italian media today.
Darmian was decisive for the second home game running yesterday, coming off the bench to score and secure a crucial 1-0 win at home to Hellas Verona.
Gazzetta dello Sport’s print edition said the wing-back was one of many players under Conte to go from being ‘the last man in the squad’ to ‘the man of destiny’.
Romelu Lukaku, Nicolo Barella, Alessandro Bastoni and Achraf Hakimi were cited as other examples at Inter of how Conte has ‘transformed’ players.
Lukaku was thrown straight into the starting XI following his arrival from Manchester United, but the other three all took time to settle before nailing down places in the side.
Barella started his first match for Inter on the bench back in 2019, the Milan-based paper recalled, but was in the line-up when the Nerazzurri played Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League a month later.
Bastoni initially had to give way to Diego Godin and Milan Skriniar before Conte put him in the starting XI, and the defender has not looked back since to become a key player in Inter’s Serie A title charge.
Hakimi joined Inter in a €40 million deal from Real Madrid last summer but even he was on the bench for his first game, when Conte’s side played Fiorentina, before gradually becoming a more complete player than he was at Borussia Dortmund.
