Luis Henrique at Inter Milan: talent or overpriced gamble?

The Brazilian winger arrives at Inter Milan this summer, but questions remain over his defensive skills and true impact on Chivu’s team

The Nerazzurri management had been tracking him for some time, but now the pitch will have to provide the first answers.

The real question surrounding Luis Henrique’s arrival at Inter Milan concerns his true value: does the €25 million (£21.1 million) investment reflect the player’s actual worth? And above all, will the Brazilian truly deliver a leap in quality to Chivu’s team? The Nerazzurri directors had followed him for a long time, but now the field will decide.

From pure winger to versatile role: Chivu’s tactical experiments with Luis Henrique

“The real enigma Luis Henrique must solve is about his value. Inter Milan’s scouts were intrigued by the ‘new’ Luis Henrique, whom De Zerbi had started to use as a full wide player, both on the right and on the left. 

They envisioned him as an alternative to Dumfries and Dimarco, adding to the squad a new type of player — different from the full-backs Inzaghi had, since Luis Henrique started his career as a winger. 

In truth, he’s still a winger, because his tactical conversion is far from complete; the Brazilian still lacks the basics for a full and effective defensive phase,” notes Repubblica via Fcinter1908.

He can track back thanks to his speed, but is weak in challenges and usually loses aerial duels. 

On the other hand, he has qualities no one in Inter Milan has shown in recent years: he is lightning-fast over short distances, explosive even from a standing start, and masters the art of dribbling. 

In Brazil, they used to say he “has joy in his legs,” and indeed he does.

It’s still unclear how Chivu intends to use him. In the friendly against Monaco, effectively his season debut, he played on the right in Dumfries’ role. In the second half, he was tried as a mezzala — an interesting experiment.

In theory, he could be ideal in a 3-4-2-1 as the left trequartista-winger, a position the club would like to entrust to Lookman. 

It’s where Luis Henrique feels most at home, even if he still struggles with finishing. While the team gets to know him better, the Brazilian could be a formidable weapon off the bench — something Inter Milan badly needed last season in messy endgames. It is, however, still too early to say if €25 million (£21.1 million) was the right price.