Former Inter defender Daniele Adani feels that Inter are already getting closer to looking like their best selves following their 3-0 Serie A win over Spezia yesterday evening.

Speaking to Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport in an interview published in today’s print edition, Adani highlighted how the Nerazzurri had already looked sharper and less sloppy than they had in their opening Serie A match against Lecce just a week earlier.

Inter got their Serie A campaign kicked off with a win in their away trip to Apulia to face newly-promoted Lecce, but the three points were not as easy to obtain as they’d have hoped, as they needed a last-gasp winner from Denzel Dumfries to get the job done.

In contrast, the Nerazzurri cruised to a 3-0 win over Spezia in their home opener, sending the fans home happy with a controlled performance with minimal drama, and Adani noted how things are already starting to click into place between the lines even compared to just one week ago.

“Inzaghi’s team, compared to their performance against Lecce, seemed to be more on the ball to be,” he said, “even they’re still at 65-70% at most.”

He suggest that this is “Partly because they’re a very physical team and it takes time to get in shape, and partly because when their opponent hardly left their own half and seemed to all but stop playing it can be hard to look at their brilliant best.”

Adani then turned to striker Lautaro Martinez’s performance, stating that “I think that when you look at every nuance and movement of Lautaro’s display, his growth is evident, he has that unimpeachable status now more than ever.”

“Lukaku on the other hand still has to shake off some cobwebs, he’s not yet at top form,” he continued. “But even so he’s a player who can carve out four or five scoring chances just with his movement and awareness.”

Adani then gave his prediction for Friday’s Serie A clash with Lazio, the Nerazzurri’s most difficult test yet on paper, stating that “Inter are superior to Lazio and are always trying to play their game.”

“It will depend on how Sarri’s team develops over the week,” he went on. “Against Spezia I saw more cohesion between the central defenders, but Immobile and the Lazio wingers will be a sterner test.”

Turning to the topic of whether the likes of Robin Gosens and Federico Dimarco can make up for the loss of Ivan Perisic over the summer, Adani said that “They’re different types of players but both top players.”

“But then Perisic was something else entirely,” he continued. “He wasn’t a full-fledged wingback, but also like an extra striker. He also attacked the area as a forward when the other wingback had the ball.”

“He has in fact revolutionized his role,” Adani said of the Croat. “It will be essential that Inzaghi gets Dimarco and Gosens feeling as confident as possible.”

Asked whether he’d have sold defender Milan Skriniar to Paris Saint-Germain for €65 million, Adani replied that “You can’t fail to sell a player for certain sums.”

He then went on that “Skriniar staying will be welcomed by everyone, from the fans to the player himself. But in the face of a bid of €65 million for a defender, it would be hard to resist.”

“The real key would be how he was replaced, and apart from Bremer who is now off the table, there are few valid replacements,” Adani noted.

“When Conte arrived and put in place the three-man backline and Skriniar was wrongly thought of as ‘unsuitable,’, who would have thought he’d be valued the way that he is now?” the former defender posed.

Lastly, Adani was asked if he sees Inter as the favourites for the Serie A title, replying that they are “One of the favourites. I put Juve at the top, thanks to their squad and their hunger to redeem themselves.”

“In Turin they’ve put together a team to win immediately, not to build around,” he noted. “Players between the ages of 28 and 34 years old have arrived, and a couple more seem to be on the way.”

“Behind Inter I put Milan, who have certainly shown that they can work seamlessly at all levels of the club,” he added. “The difference is that last year they started out with the expectation of just top four, now they can no longer hide their ambitions.”