Chivu expands his Inter Milan squad: from Sucic to Bonny

Inter Milan coach Cristian Chivu discovers new gems in his extended squad: from Sucic to Akanji, Bonny, and Esposito. And the story isn’t over yet

Chivu now has a larger squad. The Inter Milan coach has discovered new resources within his own team: from Sucic to Akanji, and from Bonny to Esposito. And it’s not over yet.

“Reading the list of Inter Milan’s summer signings at the end of August, under the beach umbrella, the names didn’t look dazzling. 

There was no Modric or De Bruyne to dream about. Everyone already knew that Manuel Akanji was a great player from his Manchester City days. 

Cristian Chivu himself vouched for Ange-Yoan Bonny’s talent. And we already understood what Petar Sucic was made of during the Club World Cup in the United States. 

But that the latest arrivals would make such a difference in a well-established team was hardly predictable. After all, from the old Inter Milan— second only to PSG in Europe and to Napoli in Italy — just one regular starter had left: Benjamin Pavard. 

Yet, two months into the season, it’s often the newcomers who are adding the extra value, including Pio Esposito, who may not be new to Pinetina, having grown up wearing this shirt, but who returned home after a brilliant year in Spezia,” Repubblica highlighted via Fcinter1908.

Sucic and the new wave powering Inter Milan forward

“Let’s start from the end — the match against Fiorentina: alongside prodigal son Çalhanoglu, who seemed ready to leave last July, Sucic shone, scoring what might be Inter Milan’s most beautiful goal of the season so far — a furious slalom, a beach-style dribble, and a finish behind the legendary De Gea. 

The 22-year-old — practically never substituted in Croatia’s midfield featuring Kovacic and Modric — had already delivered two assists in Milan: first against Torino and then again at San Siro versus Sassuolo. 

Now he’s added a goal too, earning Chivu’s praise: ‘He shows the experience of a thirty-year-old,’ said the coach.

His peer Bonny has already scored three goals in this Serie A season — against Torino, Cremonese, and notably Roma. 

A protégé of former Inter Milan winger Goran Pandev, with whom he shared the locker room in Parma, the Frenchman has proven to be an almost perfect backup for his senior compatriot Thuram. 

And while Esposito, in his first Serie A season, is showing himself more effective alone than the trio of Correa-Arnautovic-Taremi. 

Akanji has not made fans regret Pavard’s departure to Marseille: aside from one poor match in Naples, he’s consistently finished games to loud applause.

The success of these four newcomers doesn’t mean Inter Milan got everything right in the summer market. 

The shadow side has the faces of Luis Henrique, the Brazilian right winger from Marseille, and last-minute signing Andy Diouf, a midfielder brought in from Lens. Together they cost about 50 million euros (£42.6 million) — not a small sum for players struggling to break into the rotation. 

Chivu, in his typical candor, called them ‘not ready yet,’ and proved it when, in the 77th minute of Inter Milan vs Fiorentina, rather than bringing on his near-namesake of PSG, he deployed Carlos Augusto on the right flank, a player used to operating on the opposite side. 

It’s far from certain that the two latecomers will get a chance between Sunday and Wednesday, when Inter Milan first travel to Verona and then host Kazakhstan’s Kairat in the Champions League. 

Bonny and his “different twin” Pio, on the other hand, will see playing time — either from the start or as substitutes — since Thuram only resumed group training yesterday and Lautaro showed clear signs of fatigue against Fiorentina,” added Corriere.