Romelu Lukaku gave Antonio Conte a series of ‘positive signs’ yesterday as the Belgian scored in Inter’s 2-0 win against Gozzano, according to Corriere dello Sport.

Conte named the starting XI he is expected to select for next Monday’s first Serie A fixture against Lecce, with Lukaku partnering Lautaro Martinez up front.

Danilo D’Ambrosio, Stefan de Vrij and Milan Skriniar formed a three-man defence while Antonio Candreva and Kwadwo Asamoah started on the wings.

Marcelo Brozovic was flanked by Stefano Sensi and Matias Vecino in midfield, although Nicolo Barella could nick one of the latter pair’s places against Lecce if he improves his fitness this week.

Diego Godin is the only player due to be unavailable against the newly-promoted outfit at present, but Inter hope they can recover him for their second league fixture against Cagliari.

Sebastiano Esposito will be involved in some capacity at San Siro after another encouraging performance yesterday, earning the penalty which Matteo Politano converted against their Serie C opponents.

The 17-year-old is likely to see his first-team game time reduced now Lukaku and Lautaro are improving their fitness, with Inter still seeking another attacker in the transfer market.

But Conte admires Esposito’s talent and will allow him to train with the senior squad throughout the season.

Beppe Marotta, Dario Baccin and Javier Zanetti all watched Sunday’s friendly at Appiano Gentile, but Inter had more work to do after the match was done.

Conte asked his players to complete an extra 40 minutes of fitness-related work, before giving them today and tomorrow off to recuperate.