Radja Nainggolan’s disappointing debut season at Inter might not have been as much of a failure as it may seem.

The Belgian, who turns 31 today, has endured a torrid year with the Nerazzurri between injury lay-offs and disciplinary mishaps, before obtaining some redemption by scoring against arch enemy Juventus last weekend.

However, Ninja’s numbers this season show his contribution has been positive and leave some room for optimism heading into the 2019-20 campaign.

“Nainggolan hasn’t been consistent this season but he has responded present and correct in terms of goals scored,” Tuttosport reported today.

“On the one hand, the 14 goals he scored under Luciano Spalletti for Roma in the 2016-17 season remains out of reach, and it is unlikely he will ever repeat that tally.

“On the other, however, it’s worth remembering that the six goals he has scored this year represents the Belgian’s second best ever career tally for a single season.

“Nainggolan scored six goals in the 2015-16 and 2017-18 campaigns, but in both instances he played a lot more matches (42) than he has this year (31).

“If he can return to playing around 40 games next season, then, it’s not unthinkable that Radja could reach double figures again.”