Mercato watch: Inter Milan

The current champions of Italy have had a relatively quite start to the mercato by their exorbitant standards. Inter have often been the third side in Italy, behind Juve and Milan, and in the past this forced them to spend large amounts on players, usually forwards, like Ronaldo, Vieri, Crespo and the list goes on. So far though Serie A tried and tested players, Motta and Milito, have arrived giving extra depth. Indeed, the forward line looks very potent with Ibrahimovich and Balotelli now joined by the excellent Milito. Expect another striker to arrive though, as Cruz, Crespo and Obinna are likely to be shown the door.

One area where Inter do need to pay attention to is the midfield. They need a playmaker. Cambiasso and Muntari have shown how good they are in their respective positions this season, but Inter are in desperate need of a player who can run the game from the midfield. Someone like David Silva or Franck Ribery would be able to add an extra dimension to the attacking elements of Inter Milan. Deco has been linked to Inter, along with club mate defender Richardo Carvalho, but he alone would not take Inter to the next level. This really is a crucial area for Inter to address as creativity from deep as it were has been critical for the last three winners of the Champions League in Milan, Man Utd, and Barcelona. Make no mistake, it will be important next year as well for teams that want to go deep in Europe.

Inter will therefore will need to take action this summer. Juve have re-enforced very well with Diego and Cannavaro, and with Guiseppe Rossi, Diarra and D'Agostino linked also to Turin Juve it would seem have no intention of slowing down. Milan also have begun their mercato and look set to add Wolfsberg's Dzenko in the coming days, and perhaps Eto'o also. Real Madrid though could be one team to look for with regards a bargin. They want by some reports to raise cash for more high end purcases as have put the likes or Robben up for sale. Although injury prone the dutchman could help Inter solve their overreliance on Ibra as he had a great season for Real recently. One thing is for sure though, it will be a fascinating championship next season.