Inter are preparing to defend their Serie A title with a squad in transition, and the final shape of Cristian Chivu's roster will not be clear until the transfer window closes. The most significant departure is Davide Frattesi, who completed his move to Lazio after a brief administrative hold from the league was resolved. The midfielder made 122 appearances across three seasons but leaves with questions about whether Inter extracted his best football. His exit is not the last expected, with Benjamin Pavard, Luis Henrique, and Kristjan Asllani all identified as players who could follow him out of the door before the window shuts.

On the incoming side, Djed Spence has been confirmed as a permanent signing from Tottenham, tasked with filling the right wing-back role vacated by Denzel Dumfries, who moved to Real Madrid earlier this summer. John Stones also arrived and made an immediate impression, scoring the only goal in a 1-0 friendly win over Real Betis on August 15, Inter's final pre-season test. That result extended an unbeaten pre-season that included wins over Karlsruhe and Juventus alongside draws with Manchester City and Milan.

The bigger concern heading into the opener is fitness. Both Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram returned late from post-World Cup breaks and have limited training time, leaving Chivu with a genuine selection dilemma for Saturday's Serie A debut against Monza at the Giuseppe Meazza. Hakan Calhanoglu has publicly set the tone, stating the club's aim is to dominate the league again after collecting eight trophies in five years. Whether the squad is ready from the first whistle remains the immediate question.