The decline of the Milan clubs is major talking point

The decline of the Milan clubs – Inter Milan and AC Milan – has been one of the major talking points in recent years.

After sharing a number of titles between them in the last decade, they are no longer in contention for the top honours. In fact, it may take a while before they even get into the position of challenging for the title. Inter manager Roberto Mancini, however, is convinced that the duo will return back much stronger in the coming seasons. Inter have already made substantial investment in the transfer window. They would expect a return on the signings made.

Inter fans had a lot of hopes after the return of Mancini. After all, the Italian had led the club to several league titles before being replaced by Jose Mourinho. The decline of the club started after the exit of Mourinho. Mancini was unable to prevent it last season. He brought in a fair few number of signings in the January transfer window, but they were not very effective. Hence, the players signed in this transfer window must deliver in order to retain the reputation of the former Manchester City boss. The Italian Serie A title has been claimed by Juventus in the last four campaigns. Their domination is similar to that of Inter’s a few years ago.

"I'm sure both Milan clubs will get back challenging for the top honours.Sinisa [Mihajlovic of AC Milan] is one of my best friends away from the game. We played together, then he was a player under me before working as my assistant. I'm happy for him and I'm happy that I get to meet him in this first derby of the season.This is a very important derby. It's hugely important for our fans here, and for us it's important to keep getting minutes under our belts," said Mancini.