Inter strikers Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez are set to pick up where they left off as the Nerazzurri’s first-choice attacking duo, but it will not be without some new tactical tweaks.
This according to today’s print edition of Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, who note that the way that the two strikers play together already appears to have some fundamental differences under Simone Inzaghi compared to their partnership under Antonio Conte.
Lukaku and Martinez had enjoyed a very efficient chemistry under Conte’s direction, with the current Tottenham coach using the Belgian as the main forward outlet and reference point whilst the Argentine played as a kind of second striker off of him.
The pair’s attacking movements were well-coordinated and they could create chances for each other in Conte’s system, with Martinez particularly benefiting from Lukaku’s presence as a focal point in attack.
Conte and Lukaku both departed last summer, leaving Conte’s successor Inzaghi to find a new role for Martinez, who had new attacking partners in the form of Edin Dzeko and Joaquin Correa.
The former Lazio coach decided to use Martinez principally as a striker close to goal, whilst each of Dzeko, Correa, and also Alexis Sanchez tended to interpret their role in the partnership as more of a playmaker coming deeper to get on the ball.
Martinez enjoyed his best goalscoring season in an Inter shirt under Inzaghi, and so the coach wants to see the 24-year-old build on how he played last campaign, whilst also fitting Lukaku in.
Accordingly, the way that the coach appears to be setting the team up in preseason is based around playing both of the pair as out-and-out strikers, alternating their movements and forming a new kind of chemistry.
Martinez has already had twelve months to adjust to the coach’s specific demands and style, whilst Lukaku has only been back for a month and so could still need some time to get fully up to speed.
What is clear at any rate, is that while Inzaghi feels certain that the attacking duo of Lukaku and Martinez is the way forward for Inter, he has no intention of simply modelling his strike partnership after that utilized to great effect by his predecessor Conte.