Inter Milan has changed during the off-season, but not its objectives: the overwhelming favorite to retain its title, which starts on Saturday, the Italian champions want to continue their dominance in Serie A and regain their luster in Europe.

For their return to San Siro on Saturday (6:30pm, 4:30pm GMT) against neighbours and newly promoted Monza, the Nerazzurri have revamped a good part of the team that achieved last May the third Italian Championship/Cup double in their history.

For his second season at the helm of the Lombardy club, Cristian Chivu wanted this time to put his stamp on the squad he inherited from Simone Inzaghi: this summer, he rejuvenated it and gave it an English accent.

The goal will now be guarded by 28-year-old Spaniard Josep Martinez, who had been biding his time for two seasons as Yann Sommer's backup. After a season at Club Brugge, the highly promising Serbian player Aleksandar Stankovic, son of Dejan Stankovic, has returned to Appiano Gentile, the training ground. Chivu has revitalized its aging defense (Francesco Acerbi, Matteo Darmian, and Stefan de Vrij were all out of contract) with the addition of Djed Spence (formerly of Tottenham), who impressed with England during the 2026 World Cup, and the experienced John Stones from Manchester City. The club is also hoping to soon welcome another English signing, Curtis Jones (Liverpool).

- "Always win, always dominate" -

With its prolific duo Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram, supported by Francesco Pio Esposito, Ange-Yoan Bonny and Andy Diouf, Inter aims for a 22nd scudetto, a fourth since 2021. It also wants to make people forget its last European campaign, which ended in the play-offs for the round of 16 against the Norwegians of Bodø-Glimt.

"The goal," Turkish playmaker Hakan Calhanoglu recently summarized for beIN Sports, "is to always win, to always dominate the league. In five seasons, I have won eight trophies and played in two Champions League finals, we will try to win more titles."

Naples appears to be a natural contender to challenge Inter. Runners-up to the Lombardy club last May (nine points behind), Napoli edged them out by one point for the 2025 title, two years after ending a 33-year drought.

But the Azzurri lost Antonio Conte after two grueling seasons at the foot of Mount Vesuvius. His replacement, Massimiliano Allegri, boasts an impressive record (six Italian league titles with Juventus and AC Milan), but is coming off a resounding failure with AC Milan, who sacked him after his team missed out on Champions League qualification on the final matchday.

- 74 million for Ramos -

As is often the case in the summer, Milan attempted yet another revolution by changing coaches (Ruben Amorim) and sporting directors, putting 74 million euros on the table to bring in the Portuguese striker from PSG, Gonçalo Ramos.

Anything other than qualification for the next Champions League would be a failure for American owner Gerry Cardinale, who is playing with the nerves of increasingly impatient fans.

The Champions League is also the objective of Juventus Turin, 6th in the last championship 18 points behind Inter, if only to improve a financial situation that remains worrying despite the unwavering support of the Agnelli family.

The most decorated club in Italian football, whose 36th and last title dates back to 2020, has undergone a major overhaul, dismissing its general manager, Damien Comolli, after just one year, and letting go of Dusan Vlahovic, the highest-paid player in Serie A, as well as some underwhelming signings from last summer. They still managed to spend over €40 million on Randal Kolo Muani.

If these two institutions of calcio were to disappoint again, AS Roma, 3rd under the direction of Gianpiero Gasperini, and Como, who will play in the Champions League with Cesc Fabregas seven years after leaving the 3rd division, are equipped to take advantage of it again.

For its 100th anniversary, Fiorentina spent over €120 million in the transfer window to put a disastrous 2025-26 season (15th place) behind them and avoid a relegation battle that has been particularly difficult for newly promoted teams in recent seasons. Now it's Monza, Venezia, and Frosinone's turn to try and avoid yo-yoing between the top flight and the second division.