Inter Milan To Keep Italy Veteran In Squad Next Season & Sign Low-Cost Young Defender As Backup

Inter Milan intend to keep defender Francesco Acerbi next season, and sign a low-cost younger player as a backup for the 36-year-old.

This according to Italian news outlet FCInterNews. The outlet anticipate that any defensive signing by the Nerazzurri this summer will be similar to that of Yann Bisseck last summer.

In the last couple weeks, there has been a fair bit of speculation about the future of Acerbi at Inter.

This has been the result of the allegations that the Italian international had used a racial slur in an argument with Napoli’s Juan Jesus during a Serie A match before the international break.

The Italian FA prosecutors’ office investigated that incident. And the Sporting Judge found the Inter defender to be not guilty of using racially discriminatory evidence on the basis of an absence of evidence.

That does not necessarily mean that the entire controversy has blown over.

But Acerbi has avoided a ban for the incident. Had the Judge found the Italian international to be guilty of racially abusing Jesus, then he would have faced a suspension of a minimum of ten matches.

Inter To Keep Francesco Acerbi & Sign A Low-Cost Young Backup

Had Acerbi received a ten-match suspension, then it is very probable that the match against Napoli before the break would have been his last in an Inter shirt.

The 36-year-old would have then missed the remainder of the season.

And it is very unlikely that Inter would have wanted to keep Acerbi in the squad in light of such a damning verdict.

Therefore, the Nerazzurri would have then tried to offload the player this summer, according to reports.

And reports over the last week or two have linked Inter with a number of possible replacements for Acerbi.

These have included Kim Min-Jae, Mario Hermoso, Perr Schuurs, Alessandro Buongiorno, and Konstantinos Mavropanos.

In any event, however, FCIN report that Inter heard Acerbi’s version of events.

And the club have backed their player. This is evident in statements by Nerazzurri CEO Beppe Marotta and assistant coach Massimiliano Farris yesterday.

Inter coach Simone Inzaghi continues to see Acerbi as a pillar of the team in defense despite the player’s age,

And the club would hardly want to be in the situation of investing big in a replacement. They could hardly replace a player of Acerbi’s quality without spending.

And Inter’s financial restrictions within the transfer market are no big secret.

Therefore, FCIN report, Inter will keep Acerbi.

That does not mean, however, that the Nerazzurri will not sign a defender this summer.

There is still a need to bolster the squad depth. The expanded Champions League and Club World Cup format will require a larger squad than ever.

But Inter’s intention is to look for another defensive signing similar to Yann Bisseck.