Inter defender Milan kriniar has given his thoughts on the upcoming season, and spoken about some important figures at the Nerazzurri.

Speaking to Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport in an interview published in today’s print edition, the 26-year-old talked about his ambition to retain the Scudetto, and about several of his teammates.

Skriniar joined the Nerazzurri from Sampdoria in the summer of 2017, and he has been an important player at the club ever since.

The Slovak defender formed part of a strong backline last season alongside the likes of Alessandro Bastoni and Stefan de Vrij, with the trio having been a big part of the reason why the Nerazzurri had the best defensive record across all of Serie A.

Last season’s impressive results were achieved under manager Antonio Conte, but the head coach abruptly stepped down at the end of the season, and here is Skriniar’s take on the situation with the former boss:

“He surprised me, with Conte we had become like a family in the locker room, and then it is clear that when you win the Scudetto you would like to continue fighting together to reach new goals.

“But that’s the way it went. However, now we don’t have to think about the past, what we have to do is focus on the future.”

Skriniar spoke highly of Conte’s successor Simone Inzaghi:

“He is proving to be a prepared and high-level coach. We want to attain great satisfaction with him and his staff.”

Asked whether the aim for next season is still to win the Scudetto again despite the financial restrictions at the club this summer, his answer was affirmative:

“Definitely yes, after winning the championship you cannot aim for anything less. We will work to repeat our accomplishments, even if we know it will not be easy.

“We must aim to win every game to prove that we are still the strongest.”

Asked about whether he thought the situation could change with many big teams in Italy having changed managers, the Slovak international emphasized that he is mainly focused on Inter:

“Inter must now think only of itself – we are the Italian champions. And this time it is the others who have to chase us.”

Of his teammates Nicolo Barella and Alessandro Bastoni’s triumph at the Euros he had this to say:

“I am really happy for Italy and the Italians, I said from the beginning that they played well and were extremely organized.

“I am pleased for Nico and Basto – after the Scudetto they celebrated the European Championship, so they will come back ready to help us. With Bastoni and De Vrij the understanding is now complete: last year we were very good.”

Next Skriniar was asked about his reaction to the medical emergency suffered by club teammate during Denmark’s EURO 2020 opener against Finland, having this to say:

“I saw it live on TV and I was so scared. I felt sick until we got reassurance through the team chat. Chris is a golden boy, he is young and he is a champion, we are waiting for him on the pitch. the most important thing is that he is well now.”

On the loss of Achraf Hakimi, he confirmed that he will miss the Moroccan adding that the club has its work cut out to replace him.

“I’m sorry for Hakimi, he is a great player and we will miss him a lot. It is up to the club and the coach to evaluate how to replace him.

“But there are already people ready in the squad and I think that even without him we can have a great season. We have to think about the transfer market, but work only for the good of Inter.”

Lastly he was asked if there are any major feelings about playing next season alongside Hakan Calhanoglu, derby opponent from last season, after his arrival from AC Milan, and the 26-year old didn’t think so:

“Nothing in particular, it’s like any new signing, it doesn’t matter if he comes from Milan. We’re happy to have him with us because he’s technically very gifted, and on set pieces he’s phenomenal.”