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Inter are ready to make a managerial change. The Nerazzurri will likely see current Inter manager Simone Inzaghi leave the club as he's reportedly in talks to be appointed by Al Hilal after losing the UEFA Champions League final to PSG. The Italian giants will later need to find a new coach, and the main candidate for the job is the current Como head coach and former Barcelona and Arsenal legend Cesc Fabregas. The Spanish manager brought the Italian team back to the first division in his first year and ended up in 10th place in the 2024-25 Serie A standings in his second season in charge. Fabregas is widely considered as one of the best young managers in Europe, and attracted interest from multiple clubs, such as Bayer Leverkusen and AS Roma before Inter.
Who is Cesc Fabregas?
After playing at the highest levels of elite soccer with Arsenal, Barcelona, Chelsea and AS Monaco, during the 2022-23 season Fabregas moved to Italy and played for Como in his last season before retiring from professional soccer. When he arrived at Como, he also became a shareholder of the club alongside former Arsenal and Barcelona teammate Thierry Henry. After he retired, he immediately became the manager of the Under-23 team, few months before taking the job of the first team. In his first season at Como as caretaker manager he earned Serie A promotion, and in his first full season in charge he ended up in 10th place in the standings with the newly promoted team, showing not only a great level of soccer but also developed some young players such as Real Madrid loanee Nico Paz. Despite only coaching Como for less than two seasons, Fabregas immediately attracted interest from multiple clubs like German side Bayer Leverkusen that saw in Fabregas the perfect replacement of Xabi Alonso, who joined Real Madrid this summer. However, both Como and Fabregas turned down the offer and decided to continue together, but the Spanish manager still hasn't signed the new deal as manager at Como.
Cesc FΓ bregas announces his retirement from football.
A legend of the beautiful game. β€οΈ
2x Spanish Super Cup π
2x Euros π
2x Premier League π
2x Community Shield π
1x World Cup π
1x Europa League π
1x Europa League π
1x La Liga π
1x Copa del Rey π pic.twitter.com/OPXeAsdmFE
β CBS Sports Golazo β½οΈ (@CBSSportsGolazo) July 1, 2023
Why Inter want Fabregas
Inter are looking for a profile that will reshape the team after six years of a similar project. When Antonio Conte left the Nerazzurri in 2021, after two years in charge, Inter CEO and current president Beppe Marotta wanted to hire Inzaghi as he had similar tactical ideas and could continue the project of Conte, despite the roster changes. This time it will be different.
Inter will look for a manager that can improve young players, as the American ownership Oaktree want, and Fabregas showed in a very short time he's capable of making players like Nico Paz or Maximo Perrone key players despite the young age. Speaking to Luis Garcia back in 2021 when he was still a player, Fabregas said: "I love playing with the young players. It reminds me of me when I started at Arsenal at a very young age. It's different when you have someone who you can look up to that they talk to you when you make mistakes so you can improve." Now, he's doing it as a coach. A few weeks ago Fabregas spoke to Sky Italy and said the following about what might now become his next team. "I like everything about Inter, I study them a lot because they have a different way of attacking from the others."
The Nerazzurri will decide their transfer strategy after appointing the new coach, but the first signings are indicating Inter will work with a younger roster in the coming year, as Inter have already signed both winger Luis Henrique from OM for around $25 million and Dinamo Zagreb midfielder Petar Sucic, who will be both available for the FIFA Club World Cup starting on June 14 in the United States. Inter's new coach will lead the team in the group against Monterrey, Urawa Red Diamonds and River Plate.
Fabregas' role model as a manager is his former Chelsea coach Antonio Conte, who is now at Napoli and just won the title with the Azzurri, Fabregas sees him as a role model after they both won the Premier League title in 2017 with Chelsea.
"I think with Antonio, it was the first time that I've seen someone know exactly [what they want] ... It was like going to school. I promise you, he will tell you, from the goalkeeper until you have scored a goal, what you have to do, exactly everything. Maybe it's in a different way to how I saw football. At the beginning, it was difficult for me, don't get me wrong. A lot of running, a lot of intensity. Big sessions, double sessions, gym sessions. I always based myself on my own quality, on my own vision, I pass the ball where I feel I will be dangerous and where I can hurt the the opponents. I had coaches like Pep who had a lot of positioning game, but we had freedom inside of this. With Conte, the freedom was non-existent, he was telling me where I have to pass the ball."
Cesc Fabregasβ @Como_1907 get their first Serie A win in 23 years in a come-from-behind victory against Atalanta π€ pic.twitter.com/OpWl3TkDhB
β CBS Sports Golazo β½οΈ (@CBSSportsGolazo) September 24, 2024
Hiring a manager like Fabregas represents a significant risk and shift for Inter, but the timing feels right. Simone Inzaghi's tenure with the Nerazzurri was successful, yet it ended on a bitter note with a disappointing Champions League final loss to PSG on May 31. Both the Italian manager and Inter need a fresh start. The club is seeking a coach who can overhaul the tactical system and ideas that have defined the team for the past six years. Fabregas may seem like a risky choice, but he brings innovative concepts to a squad that, despite reaching two Champions League finals in three years, may have hit its best. Appointing the former Arsenal and Barcelona star would also mark a big change for Inter, as he would become the club's second-youngest coach, following Andrea Stramaccioni, who was 36 when he replaced Claudio Ranieri in 2012. In Serie A, it's rare to see such young managers at major clubs like Inter, making this a particularly interesting move ahead of the 2025-26 season.