Serie A: Inter Milan's ideal starting XI under Antonio Conte

Defenders

Skriniar has opined that Inter may challenge for the title under Conte this season

Most of Conte's 3-man defences have at least one player who's adept on the ball, if not all three. This one player could feature anywhere in the backline but usually plays in between his two other centre-halves. Leonardo Bonucci did so for Juventus and Italy, David Luiz filled that role at Chelsea, and so far it, seems like Stefan de Vrij will be the one to do so at Inter.

Milan Skriniar and D'Ambrosio will be his most likely partners in defence. They're both not shy bringing the ball out from defence either and it may come down to who gets the most opportunities.

Diego Godin, who has just arrived on a free transfer from Atletico Madrid, could become a prominent fixture in this defence once he returns from injury as well. Andrea Ranocchia makes for a good deputy, but Conte's not one to chop and change just for the sake of it. Manchester United's Matteo Darmian has been linked with a move to Inter, which could see him play as a third centre-back instead of D'Ambrosio as well.

Both D'Ambrosio and Darmian would be able to fill in at right wing-back if Conte needs their services there, however, the regular starter would be a more attack-minded player with defensive responsibilities.