Contrary to popular belief, Inter didn’t have a terrible defensive season due to Andrea Ranocchia playing a lot for the first time, which is why Manchester United have renewed their interest in the Italian centre back.

The Nerazzurri conceded more goals than anyone but one club in the Serie A last season, but it had to do quite a lot with an aging squad that couldn’t stay quite fit, as Javier Zanetti, Walter Samuel, Christian Chivu and Matias Silvestre all suffered from an injury or two during the campaign.

Ranocchia himself finally played an almost full campaign in the first team lineup, showing that all the enthusiasm about him when he first signed for the club, coming from Genoa, wasn’t only about his height. He’s a good stopped in the defense, that happens to be a part of a transitional phase for Inter who have been fearing this collapse for years, ending up having one of their worst seasons ever.

While centre back isn’t the most immediate of needs for Manchester United, they would still like to see a bit more quality there, knowing that Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic are both far from their peak abilities and will never return to them, while Jonny Evans, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones (if he actually plays at that position) are probably not fully trusted to carry the load for a team as ambitious as United.

Some suggested that another Inter player, Fredy Guarin, would be on United’s mind, but the Colombian midfielder, who had a great start to his Inter career but faded away as the season progresses, isn’t going to be the midfielder United sign, with Thiago Alcantara closer than ever to leaving Barcelona.

Inter, on their part, are in financial difficulties, and seem to be heading towards a salary clearing similar to what we saw from Milan a year ago, only without succeeding during the initial phase of it. Ranocchia is one of the few decently aged assets they have that’s also someone that isn’t untouchable for the owner and the fans, which might mean we’ll see him leave to United or another club, possibly for around £13 million.

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