Fourth in the Serie A standings, three points behind Napoli, Inter is not in crisis. The Nerazzurri certainly experienced a setback by losing to the Partenopei (1-3), but they remained on a series of four consecutive victories in the league. On paper, nothing alarming. Except for one of his recruits: Luis Henrique. Sold by Olympique de Marseille to Inter for around €23 million, the Brazilian winger had already raised eyebrows among the media and internal supporters at the Club World Cup and even before the start of Serie A. Two months later, the doubts have not been dispelled. Far from it.
Diouf also takes it for his rank
Beyond his poor statistical record (0 goals, 0 assists), Luis Henrique plays little and above all fails to adapt to Cristian Chivu's system. The Romanian wants wingers and the former Phoenician doesn't make the difference. Result: his coach counts little on him. In the Champions League, he only played one match out of three, against Union Saint-Gilloise. And again, he only came into play for 13 minutes. In Serie A, he was called up for all matches, but he only started once for four appearances. Five appearances for a total playing time of 155 minutes, or 31 minutes per match. Here again, the results are weak. Asked about the Brazilian's performances the day before the clash against Napoli, Chivu said that he believed that Luis Henrique was not ready for Serie A, just like another summer recruit made in Ligue 1: Andy Diouf (22 years old).
The former Lens midfielder cost €25m and has only played 26 minutes since his arrival in Italy: 11 against Torino on August 25 and 15 against Cremonese on October 4. It was Chivu who set out on his own following the Diouf example to answer questions about Luis Henrique. “We could then talk about Diouf, who played even less. These are two boys who train well, who have qualities and great room for improvement, especially on the mental level. I don't consider them ready for Italian football yet, but I still gave them a chance. I take responsibility for it, maybe with so many close matches I spent less time than necessary explaining certain things to them and talking to them, but they are two good players who will soon free themselves mentally, because they have qualities. Their time will come and we will see them more often on the field.»
“With the same amount, we could have recruited a high-level player»
Since this press conference, Luis Henrique has had to settle for 17 minutes against Napoli, while Diouf has remained glued to the sidelines. And the criticism is seriously starting to come in, because the Italian media seem to have less patience than the interior coach. “Chivu, with the intellectual honesty that characterizes him, stressed that Henrique and Diouf were not ready. It was not a rejection, but an admission: there is work to be done on these two players. It's easier to imagine Diouf coming into his own – who, physically, embodies the prototype of the modern midfielder – rather than Henrique, who doesn't seem to have the physique for the job to play the winger role at a top club. The Brazilian, who knows how to dribble, could be useful in a 4-4-2 as a winger or in a 4-3-3, but these two playing systems are not considered at Inter.writing Tuttosport.
For his part, The Corriere dello Sport added after the match that the former Phocaean “is having trouble. It is not very effective. He still has to understand Italian football. Darmian, replacing Dumfries, was a different story until a few months ago.” There Gazzetta dello Sporton the other hand, was more lenient. “He came on when the score was 3-1, mainly to give holders Dumfries some breathing space before the match against Fiorentina. What could he do?” Finally, The Corriere della Sera spoke of regrets regarding the transfer window. “There is no shortage of time. But no doubts either: with the same amount (around €50 million spent on Luis Henrique and Diouf, editor's note), we could have recruited a high-level player.» The two Interists will appreciate…
