Inter Sporting Director Piero Ausilio stopped by Sky Sport for his traditional pre-match interview moments before kick-off between the Nerazzurri and Parma at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza.
Ausilio explained Spalletti’s choices behind the starting line-up stating that: “I think the choices made by the coach were forced due to many motives. He has evaluated the match on Tuesday but this is a match to win, we have a quality squad.”
What can you tell us about the contract renewal talks with Mauro Icardi?
“There is no specific news, the contacts have ongoing between the different parties for quite some time now. There is a lot of time left on his current contract so there is no need to rush things. There is a will to extend both on our part and on the player’s part and slowly we will meet in the middle.”
What do you think about the Champions League group draw?
“We had a difficult draw in 2010 too. Our desire to be in the Champions League was so much that we expected this, starting in the fourth pot, that we would end up in a difficult group. We leave the concern to others, Barcelona was in our group even in the year of the final in Madrid, so you see.”
Why did you decide to sign Keita Balde?
“We knew that we had a lot of matches this season, especially in the first 6 months. With Icardi being in the national team too, we knew that it would be risky to only have one central striker in the squad. We had to decide between a striker and a midfielder, we decided to sign Keita due to his unpredictability and great potential that allows us to play even without Icardi on the pitch.”
