Ahead of this weekend’s Milan derby, both clubs have been busy in the transfer market.

Inter Milan has acquired center back Francesco Acerbi. The 35-year-old veteran defender is on loan from Lazio, who made 135 appearances for the capital club. Francesco Acerbi is known in Italy for playing in 149 consecutive matches, beginning with Sassuolo in 2015. The 6’4″ center-back has been a journeyman since 2006, playing for various clubs. The bulk of his career came with Lazio. The defender bloomed into his role as a second string footballer for the Azzurri.

Moreover, Acerbi made his Italian national team debut in 2019 and was part of the Euro 2020 championship squad, where Italy was crowned champions for the second time since 1968. Most notably, Acerbi put himself on the map during Italy’s 2-1 victory over Austria in the Round of 16, where he started the match and played 120 minutes. Francesco Acerbi joins Romelu Lukaku, who returned to Inter earlier this year. However, Lukaku suffered an injury to his left thigh, resulting in his absence for this Saturday’s Milan derby at San Siro.

Inter’s inner-city rival, AC Milan, signed midfielder Aster Vranckx on loan from Wolfsburg, as well as Sergiño Dest – on loan from Barcelona. Twenty-one-year-old Sergiño Dest was born in the Netherlands. The USMNT defender looks to make a name for himself ahead of the World Cup. In addition, Aster Vranckx made 25 appearances for Wolfsburg and four appearances for the Belgium U-21 squad. The midfielder is at the forefront of Belgium’s future, as their golden generation’s door closes after Qatar’s 2022 FIFA World Cup.

While most transfers in the Serie A came in the previous months, injuries have plagued the players involved. For example, Ángel Di María and Paul Pogba’s seasons have been curtailed with Juventus due to injury. Moreover, Francesco Acerbi’s loan from Lazio flew under the radar, especially since Paulo Dybala and Georginio Wijnaldum have taken the spotlight in their signings at Roma.

The most significant move for the Italian top flight could have been Ronaldo’s rumored transfer from Manchester United to Napoli. However, the Portuguese winger still remains at Old Trafford, despite being excluded from Erik ten Hag’s starting eleven, as Man United recorded its third consecutive win in the English Premier League Thursday against Leicester City.

Nevertheless, Francesco Acerbi puts the cap on the transfer deadline for Serie A. The center back will join Slovak fullback Milan Škriniar, and the Italian Federico Dimarco on Simone Inzaghi’s back line. Inter will gain much needed depth with Acerbi, ahead of Group C in the Champions League, where they will face Barcelona and Bayern.

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