Inter Milan: Three hopes, one fear

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MILAN, ITALY – OCTOBER 16: Joao Mario of FC Internazionale in action during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and Cagliari Calcio at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on October 16, 2016 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Pier Marco Tacca/Getty Images) /

Hope #2: That Joao Mario will finding scoring chances behind Perisic and Icardi

Mario, 23, was Inter’s big offseason signing coming to the club from Sporting Lisbon in Portugal on a 40 million Euro deal. The Portuguese international made 33 appearances for Sporting last season, notching six goals in league play and became one of the more feared midfielders in the SuperLiga. The hope is that he can create scoring chances for Inter’s 1-2 scoring combination of Ivan Perisic (7 goals in 2015-2016) and Mauro Icardi (16 goals).

De Boer in his coaching career has been a firm believer in the Ajax style of play, stressing the use of attacking midfielders and diagonal passing. That would seem to suit Mario’s style, who was very successful last season at pressing defenses and finding open chances for Islam Slimani. Slimano plays a very similar style to that of Icardi so one could see a fruitful relationship building between the two. How he works with Perisic and Ever Banega will go a long way into determining Inter’s success this season.

What will also be interesting to see is how he handles needing to shoot more. Last season’s six goals were a career-high for Mario and he hasn’t really ever been asked to be a goal-scorer. It is an integral aspect of the Ajax system to have midfielders willing to take their chances so it may be something to keep an eye on.

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