Inter Milan are only three points behind Serie A leaders Roma but four losses in their first 12 matches have the distinct whiff of missed opportunities.
Goalkeeping errors have become a big topic among Inter supporters and 36-year-old Yann Sommer, who joined the Nerazzurri from Bayern Munich in 2023, has conceded more goals than the post-shot expected goals (PSxG) faced in Serie A this season.
Second-choice goalkeeper Josep Martinez is still available but has reportedly missed opportunities to play in Sommer’s place in the aftermath of a tragic road incident in which his car hit and killed an 81-year-old man.
A new goalkeeper is a priority for Inter Milan
With 20-year-old Alessandro Calligaris a fresh face in the first team squad and Raffaele Di Gennaro injured, FCInter1908 reports that Sommer’s ‘decline’ has expedited Inter’s quest to find his successor.
“The first name on the list is Elia Caprile,” reports Gianni Pampinella. “[Cagliari] bought him in the summer for €8 million. Others on the list: [Zion] Suzuki, a year younger than Caprile [but] sidelined until at least February with a hand injury, and Noah Atubolu from Freiburg.”
Twenty-four-year-old Caprile has had to work his way up the ranks over the last five years. He developed at Chievo in Verona, the city where he was born, and was signed by Championship side Leeds United in the January transfer window in 2020.
Leeds were promoted but Caprile never made a senior appearance for the Yorkshire club in either the Championship or the Premier League. He returned to Italy and was loaned to third-tier Pro Patria in 2021/22.
His performance in Busto Arsizio earned him a permanent switch to Bari in Serie B. A year later he was on the move again, joining Scudetto contenders Napoli in 2023.
Loans to Empoli and Cagliari followed and Caprile is now an established first choice in Serie A with the Sardinians.
The former Leeds prospect posted impressive numbers on loan at Cagliari in the second half of last season and was called up for the Italian national team for the first time in November.
Caprile wasn’t given his senior international debut as Italy left it agonisingly late to beat Moldova and lost to Norway, leaving them facing a World Cup 2026 qualification play-off semi-final against Northern Ireland in March.
Caprile and Cagliari will be in the spotlight on Saturday when they travel north to Turin to take on Juventus.
Despite calls for him to be dropped, Sommer is likely to start Inter Milan’s away game at Pisa on Sunday afternoon.
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