Inter Milan Paying For ‘Flop’ Displays By Albania & Iran Stars In Starting XI | OneFootball

Inter Milan are paying for some “flop” performances from midfielder Kristjan Asllani and striker Mehdi Taremi.

This is the view in today’s print edition of Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, via FCInterNews. They argue that duo have not proven themselves in the Nerazzurri starting eleven.

The last few couple weeks have put Inter’s squad depth to the test.

In midfield, the Nerazzurri have been without both Hakan Calhanoglu and Henrikh Mkhitaryan due to injury.

That has meant an opportunity for Asllani in the Inter starting eleven. The Albanian is Calhanoglu’s main deputy.

Meanwhile, Mehdi Taremi has also had chances, both in the starting eleven and from the bench.

Inter coach Simone Inzaghi hardly wants to run starting strikers Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram into the ground. And Taremi is the main backup.

Inter Pay For “Flop” Performances From Kristjan Asllani & Mehdi Taremi

But in the view of the Gazzetta, neither Asllani nor Taremi have proven that they can replicate the contributions of the players they are essentially backups for.

Asllani has had some solid performances, such as his display against Venezia last weekend. However, there have also been much less promising ones, like against Bologna.

Inconsistency is a big problem in the holding midfield role that Asllani plays.

Therefore, Inter have really been paying for it when Hakan Calhanoglu has been absent.

Meanwhile, the Gazzetta have compared Taremi’s situation to Alexis Sanchez last season.

Like Sanchez, Taremi has had moments where he’s shown his undeniable quality.

But the Iranian international has failed to show a clinical edge. He has yet to score a single goal in Serie A.

This has left Inter looking far more dependent than they’d like to be on Martinez and Thuram.