Inter Milan chief defends January transfer spending, backs Luciano Spalletti

Published on: 23 February 2018

Technical director Walter Sabatini defended Inter Milan's decisions in the January transfer window.

The technical coordinator of the Suning Group, which owns Serie A club Inter Milan, has defended the Chinese company for their investments in the January transfer window.

Only Lisandro Lopez and Rafinha arrived last month to a side that have slipped out of the top four and risk missing out on Champions League football.

Like in the preseason, when Inter's spending was eclipsed by their city rivals AC Milan, Suning has been blamed for not making funds available, but Walter Sabatini, hired before the summer partly to oversee Inter's transfer dealings, said he and his colleagues should be held responsible.

"Blaming Suning is wrong as much as it is unfair because, aside from Financial Fair Play, the owners have never influenced our decisions," he told Sky Sport Italia. "The responsibility, therefore, is exclusively that of a group of professional people who have been doing all the work.

"I have a substantial share in this responsibility because I shared, inspired and pushed through the choices that were made, starting with the choice of coach -- who, in any case, is still the best around. I will go to Nanjing soon to report to the owners, but first of all, I need to answer to the Nerazzurri fans."

Inter face Benevento on Saturday having slipped a point behind fourth-placed Lazio after picking up just nine points from their past 10 games.

Sabatini does not believe Inter's players have fallen out with coach Luciano Spalletti, though, and is sure they will rediscover their form eventually.

"I don't believe in the talk of them lacking effort, professionalism or sacrifice," Sabatini said. "All footballers have got to have those attributes at any level. I think the time has come for us to make a summary, which nobody can avoid. It's going to have to be a firm summary in the dressing room, on the field and with the media, and equally in the club's headquarters."

Ben Gladwell reports on Serie A, the Italian national team and the Bundesliga for ESPN FC, UEFA and the Press Association. @UEFAcomBenG.

Comments

Use a Facebook account to add a comment, subject to Facebook's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your Facebook name, photo & other personal information you make public on Facebook will appear with your comment, and may be used on ESPN's media platforms. Learn more.

Source: espn.co.uk

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.
Learn more