Former Inter goalkeeper Julio Cesar has given his appraisal of the situation at the Nerazzurri, stating that the club could have a hard time replacing departing players this summer.

Speaking to Amazon Prime, as reported by L’Interista, the Brazilian treble-winner was straightforward in his assessment, suggesting that a drop-off in quality could be on the way thanks to the loss of Achraf Hakimi and the prospective sale of Romelu Lukaku.

The Nerazzurri were the standout team in Serie A last season, with Antonio Conte’s men winning the Scudetto by a twelve-point margin.

However, with Conte’s departure and some key outgoings, the club may struggle to maintain anything like the form seen during their march to the title.

Former Lazio boss Simone Inzaghi will do the best with what he has available to him, and supporters can take heart from the number of key players from last season’s triumph still in the squad, but the treble hero believes this may not be enough.

“The situation at Inter is dictated by financial problems,” said the former goalkeeper, “Inter must respect Financial Fair Play.

“Conte is a coach I liked a lot, he had the right mentality and he won the Scudetto. Lukaku had a wonderful season but when a club in Inter’s situation gets an offer like this it’s hard to refuse it. The same goes for Hakimi.”

On the search for successors to these key players, Cesar said, “Now I hope that Inter can turn the market to replace them, but finding substitutes that are up to it will be very difficult.”