Former Inter defender Daniele Adani believes that Inter midfielder Nicolo Barella has become a top player over his time at the club, and that summer signing Edin Dzeko has been decisive at the Nerazzurri.
Speaking to Italian news outlet TuttoMercatoWeb at the Trento Festival of Sport, the 47-year-old also stated that he thinks that matches against midtable clubs will be as important in determining the outcome of the Scudetto as direct clashes between title rivals.
Barella joined Inter as a highly promising midfielder from Cagliari in the summer of 2019 and now looks to have realized his potential, while Dzeko was on the opposite end of the experience spectrum when he joined, coming in as a reliable option from Roma this summer.
“Inter are vindicating the predictions,” he said, “Barella’s level is now that of a top midfielder, I have a particular esteem for Brozovic and I think Dzeko is making the difference, it’s clear.”
The only “top” team who Inter have faced so far are Atalanta, but even in games against Serie A’s midtable sides they have faced tough opposition, having to work for all of their wins and also dropping points against Sampdoria.
AC Milan and perfect starters Napoli have also been given more trouble by midtable opposition than results would suggest, while Juventus got off to a tough start as they dropped points in successive matches against theoretically more beatable opposition.
Adani believes that it is these matches against so-called lesser teams which will be decisive in determining which team sits at the top of the table at the end of the season as much as the head-to-head clashes between top teams.
“This year, even the medium-sized teams have a lot to offer – the Scudetto will not be decided only in head-to-head matches,” he stated.
