Inter will challenge for Scudetto under Conte, predicts Skriniar

Milan Skriniar understands Inter’s decision to part company with Luciano Spalletti and believes his side will challenge to win Serie A under replacement Antonio Conte next season.

A fourth-place finish in 2018-19 was not enough to keep Spalletti in the job as Inter turned to former Juventus boss Conte.

The 49-year-old won three league titles in as many seasons with Juve, prior to experiencing mixed success with the Italy national side and Chelsea.

Skriniar admits Inter must improve on last season, when they held off AC Milan and Roma on the final day to claim a Champions League spot, and he hopes a change of coach brings a change in mentality.

“Spalletti is a great person and a great coach, but the club made its decision,” he told Sport Mediaset. “Now there is Conte, there are new expectations and we want to challenge for the Scudetto.

“Last season was satisfactory because we got into the Champions League, but we can always do better. 

“The results in the final weeks of the season weren’t what we wanted, but our objective was to finish in the top four and we achieved that.”

Inter have been tipped to bring in a number of new players ahead of Conte’s first season at San Siro, with experienced centre-back Diego Godin widely expected to be on his way from Atletico Madrid on a free transfer, but prolific striker Mauro Icardi’s future remains unclear.

“Icardi is a great player and a friend, so we’ll see what happens. If he remains here, then we’ll be happy about that,” Skriniar said. 

“Godin will make the squad even more competitive and that is the most important thing.”