Inter Milan hire former Lazio boss Simone Inzaghi as new coach

Serie A champions Inter Milan have appointed Simone Inzaghi as their new manager, the club have announced.

Inzaghi confirmed last week that he was stepping down as Lazio coach, and will now replace Antonio Conte.

Conte agreed to the mutual termination of his contract just weeks after leading Inter to their first Serie A title since 2010.

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Inzaghi has been at Lazio since joining as a player in 1999, winning Serie A, Coppa Italia three times and a UEFA Super Cup as a forward before hanging up his boots in 2010.

He started coaching in the youth section of the capital club before taking the first-team position in April 2016 after Marcelo Bielsa left his position at the club after just two days.

Inzaghi guided Lazio to Coppa Italia and two Italian Super Cup wins, while also leading them to the knockout stages of their first Champions League campaign in 13 years last season.

He will now succeed Conte, who staged Inte’s title success – the club’s 19th overall – breaking Juventus’ grip on the trophy for nine years.

Inter have signed high profile signings such as Romelu Lukaku, Christian Eriksen and Achraf Hakimi during Conte’s tenure and their arrivals have spurred the club to great success. But a grim financial outlook and the prospect of a player transfer have made Conte unwilling to work with a « scaled down » project.

Inter were also among a group of 12 clubs that had planned to launch a breakaway European Super League, before retiring. The club are said to be in debt of more than 500 million euros, due to both the coronavirus and ambitious spending.

Majority owner, Chinese retailer Suning, has faced the effects of a state-sponsored bailout and has actively sought new club investors.

Reuters contributed to this report.