Antonio Conte didn’t stay at Inter Milan for very long, but enjoyed a successful spell with Neazurri – helped by his canny dealings in the transfer market.
Over his two years at San Siro, he transformed Inter from also-rans into title winners for the first time in over a decade, cantering to the Scudetto in 2020-21 before characteristically resigning in a huff.
We’ve listed Conte’s first 10 signings at Inter and discovered what they’re up to these days.
Diego Godin
Joining Inter after his legendary spell at Atletico Madrid came to an end in 2019, Godin spent a single season in Milan but did manage to score in the Europa League final defeat to Sevilla.
The Uruguay defender moved to Cagliari, but eventually returned to South America. He’s since played in Brazil, Argentina, and now Porongos in his home country.
Valentino Lazaro
Lazaro arrived at San Siro not long after Conte, bought from Hertha Berlin after impressing in the Bundesliga.
He was set to be used as a wing-back in Conte’s 3-5-2 system but failed to settle quickly and was heavily criticised in the Italian press after a poor debut in October 2019.
“Conte’s the best coach I’ve ever had,” Lazaro said around that time. “He takes care of every detail, especially tactics.” Clearly the appreciation wasn’t mutual as Lazaro was shipped out on loan to Newcastle in January, where he also found the going tough.
He was loaned out on three more occasions – to Borussia Monchengladbach, Benfica and Torino – before joining the latter on a permanent deal in 2023.
Matteo Politano
Politano spent the season before Conte’s arrival on loan at Inter from Sassuolo and made more appearances for the Nerazzurri than any other outfield player in 2018-19.
It was little surprise that Inter signed him outright for €20million in the summer of 2019.
As a winger, Politano was not a natural fit for Conte’s 3-5-2 and played just 11 times in the first half of the 2019-20 season before Conte decided he’d seen enough and sanctioned a loan to Napoli.
Politano’s form improved so markedly that Napoli signed him on a permanent deal in 2021. He’s made a total of 194 appearances for the Neopolitans and was part of their Scudetto-winning squad of 2022-23.
Eddie Salcedo
Salcedo joined Inter on a season-long loan deal with a permanent option in 2018, playing with the U19s. The deal was made permanent in June 2019 for €8 million.
The striker failed to make a senior appearance for Inter, being loaned out a whopping seven times – the latest of which was with Serie B side Lecco.
Stefano Sensi
Solid but unspectacular, Sensi was brought in on loan in 2019, signed permanently in 2020 and has made 57 Inter appearances in total.
Mostly featuring from the bench, the 28-year-old deep-lying playmaker has been a useful, technically capable squad player for Inter without ever threatening to become a first-team regular.
Lucien Agoume
Signed as a 17-year-old, Agoume made three substitute appearances for the Nerazzurri in 2019-20 before being loaned out to Spezia in summer 2020, where he played 12 times.
He’s since been out on loan to Brest, Troyes and Sevilla, with the La Liga side reportedly having an €8million option-to-buy clause.
“These months have been about learning in a beautiful city and a great club, where the people have welcomed me very well,” Agoume said about his time in Seville.
“I feel comfortable here, we’ll see what will happen in the next few months.”
Nicolo Barella
Barella joined Inter on loan from Cagliari in 2019 and then permanently in 2020 before becoming one of the best midfielders in Europe.
The little midfielder has been a revelation at the San Siro, the beating heart of Inter’s midfield during their Scudetto wins in 2021 and 2024.
In May 2021, Inter legend Nicola Berto told Il Giornale: “He knows how to do everything. Barella has quality, class, elegance and substance and he’ll be Inter’s captain for the next 10 years. What more do I need to say?”
In line to captain Italy at this summer’s European Championship, it’s no wonder that Inter are keen on extending Barrella’s contract beyond 2026 – or that Premier League clubs are sniffing around the 27-year-old.
Andrei Radu
Having been schooled at the Inter academy from 2017, Romanian goalkeeper Radu was sent out on loan to Genoa in 2018-19, played 33 games and was then signed permanently by the Genovese side for €8million.
Almost immediately, however, Radu was resigned by Inter for €12million (technically making him a Conte signing) and then loaned out to… Genoa. Completely normal behaviour.
In 2020-21, Radu returned to Inter and became the backup to Samir Handanovic. In his one full game in nets, Radu conceded once as Inter won 3-1.
He spent last season back out on loan, making five appearances for Bournemouth, but failed to make Romania’s squad for Euro 2024.
Romelu Lukaku
Bought in from Manchester United, who weren’t particularly sorry to see him go, Lukaku was worth every penny of the club-record €80million transfer fee.
Twenty-four goals and 11 assists in 2020-21 made Lukaku one of the outstanding players in Serie A and Conte referred to his work with Lukaku as “polishing a diamond” -with the Belgian striker also giving great credit to Conte for his improvement.
“[In] 2014 we spoke for the first time and we have had a bond ever since,” Lukaku wrote after Conte left Milan. “We had many moments to work together but only god knows why it never happened earlier.
Lukaku soon followed Conte out of the club, returning to Chelsea for an ignominious spell. He’s since been loaned back to Inter, where his misses in the 2023 Champions League final and flirtation with Juventus went down like a cup of sick with the Neazzurri.
After spending the 2023-24 campaign on loan at Roma, Lukaku will be looking to leave Stamford Bridge permanently this summer.
Cristiano Biraghi
Biraghi came through the youth system at Inter, but has since made his name as a fine defender at Fiorentina.
However, he has returned to the San Siro twice on loan, the second occasion coming in 2019 as Conte looked to add experience to his defence.
Despite making 37 appearances in 2019-20, Inter decided not to re-sign Biraghi permanently and he returned to Fiorentina – where’s he captained the Serie A outfit in two consecutive Europa Conference League final defeats in 2023 and 2024.