Inter Milan Coach Not Worried About Starting Young Duo In Midfield Vs Fiorentina

Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi is not at all worried about starting both Davide Frattesi and Kristjan Asllani against Fiorentina.

This according to today’s print edition of Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, via FCInterNews, who report that the coach is confident about the young pair’s performances on Sunday.

Nerazzurri coach Inzaghi will not have much choice with his selections in midfield at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

Both of Hakan Calhanoglu and Nicolo Barella will be missing through suspensions.

This is because of yellow cards that the pair – who were each one booking away from suspension – picked up during the Supercoppa Italiana this past week.

Calhanoglu and Barella have been virtually immovable parts of Inter’s midfield trio in Serie A. Henrikh Mkhitraryan has been the third man in that trident.

And there is little choice that Mkhitaryan will start on Sunday in Tuscany.

But Inzaghi will have to do without the two other regular starters.

Inter Coach Inzaghi Confident About Frattesi & Asllani Vs Fiorentina

The two players who replace Calhanoglu and Barella alongside Mkhitaryan will be Asllani and Frattesi respectively.

The former, who joined from Empoli in the summer of 2022, is a direct backup to Calhanoglu.

And Frattesi has a fairly similar stylistic profile to his fellow Italian international Barella.

Both of the duo have made plenty of appearances this season. But they have largely come as substitutes.

It would be hard to say that Inzaghi fully trusts either as starters on the basis of their limited playing time from the start.

The Gazzetta note that Asllani and Frattesi have started together on just two occasions.

One was against Benfica in the Champions League. That match saw Inter need a wild second half comeback from 3-0 down to secure a point.

And then both the Albanian and Italian started against Bologna in the Coppa Italia.

The Nerazzurri lost that match 2-1 during extra time.

However, the Gazzetta reports, Inzaghi is not worried about either of the young midfielder’s readiness to start on Sunday.

In terms of what he’s seen from them both in training and in matches, the Nerazzurri coach feels that both are ready to step in and deputize for their more experienced teammates.