Chivu claims two Inter summer signings ‘aren’t ready’ two months into 2025-26

Speaking at his pre-match press conference on Friday, ahead of Inter’s upcoming Serie A test away against Napoli, Chivu was asked what Luis Henrique has been working on during his absence from the starting line-up. 

“Diouf has played even less, but both have been working hard,” Chivu replied. “They’re quality players and have room to grow, mentally as well.” 

He went on to admit that he hasn’t felt ‘ready’ to deploy either Diouf or Luis Henrique as regular starters just yet, but insists that ‘their time will come’. 

“To date, I haven’t considered them as being ready yet, but I will always take responsibility. I might have spent less time listening to them due to the high number of matches we’ve had. I can’t fault their commitment, they are good players and their time will come.” 

As things stand, Luis Henrique has started just once since his €25m signing from Marseille at the beginning of the summer, and has come off the bench a further four times across 10 competitive matches this term. 

Diouf, meanwhile, has not yet featured in a Nerazzurri starting line-up, and has been limited to just 26 minutes in all competitions since joining Inter from Lens, again at a reported cost of €25m.