Reported Arsenal and Crystal Palace target Paulo Fonseca is one of the early frontrunners to replace Antonio Conte at Inter Milan, as reported by Tuttomercatoweb.
If the former Porto and Shakhtar Donetsk boss could not lead a talented Roma squad into the Champions League places – they finished seventh following a miserable 2021 – is he really the man to keep an Inter side hemorrhaging cash at the summit of Italian football?
In truth, Fonseca’s reputation should – and probably will – survive a mixed spell in the Italian capital though.
The Mozambique-born 48-year-old has won nine trophies during spells in Portugal and Ukraine.
If Inter fans had one criticism of Conte, it’s that his Nerrazzuri side was more reactive and pragmatic than free-flowing and fun.
Fonseca, in stark contrast, is famed for his attractive, forward-thinking approach – even if Fabio Capello is right to question his ability to set up a solid defence.
Antonio Conte’s Inter Milan replacement?
Calciomercato reported a few weeks ago that Crystal Palace had been in touch with Fonseca about potentially replacing Roy Hodgson at Selhurst Park. A man who prides himself on an exciting brand of football would certainly be welcome after the stale stability of the Hodgson era.
Italian expert Tancredi Palmeri, meanwhile, claimed that Arsenal had identified Fonseca amid doubts about Mikel Arteta’s suitability in the Emirates dugout.
The one-time centre-back has also been offered to Tottenham and linked with Wolves.
But while Inter would undoubtedly represent the biggest job of his career, Fonseca may be spooked by the well-publicised problems at a club who have just lost their talismanic, title-winning manager.
Goal claims that Inter need to raise £77 million via player sales to ease those financial nightmares, with Romelu Lukaku, Alessandro Bastoni, Stefan de Vrij and Lautaro Martinez potentially available.
The Inter side who go into battle to defend their Serie A title may be very different from the one that claimed it in the first place.
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