Eriksen or Nainggolan out? Conte says some Inter players must leave

Carlo Garganese

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 2 min read

Inter coach Antonio Conte has warned that his squad is too large and that some players must leave in January.

The former Juventus and Chelsea boss has been under fire this week after Inter were dumped out of Europe in midweek following a 0-0 draw with Shakhtar Donetsk.

However, the Nerazzurri earned an impressive 3-1 comeback win over Cagliari on Sunday, their fourth straight victory in Serie A.

Speaking after the game, Conte refused once again to answer any questions about Christian Eriksen who was substituted while Inter trailed 1-0.

The Dane, along with fellow midfielders Radja Nainggolan and Matias Vecino, are considered the most likely players to leave in January as Inter’s midfield is currently too bloated for a squad with no European football.

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“There are things to consider in an objective way, from the outside you don’t see real things, both the directors and I knew all the difficulties we had at the beginning of the season,” Conte told DAZN.

“We knew there would not be optimal situations, we accepted and shared them, we knew there could be problems.

“We go ahead, hoping to improve something, some players can leave to have more game time. We may become less deep, but more functional.”

Nicola Barella, Danilo D’Ambrosio and Romelu Lukaku scored Inter’s goals on Sunday after Riccardo Sottil had opened the scoring for Cagliari.