Inter ‘happy to have’ Taremi, Inzaghi says
Inter head coach Simone Inzaghi confirmed the acquisition of Iranian striker Mahdi Taremi on Saturday, saying the newly-crowned Serie A champion is thrilled to have signed the Porto talisman.
“We’re very happy to have him,” the Italian said when he was shown footage of Taremi’s strike for Porto against Chaves during an interview with DAZN after the Nerazzurri’s 1-0 defeat at Sassuolo.
Yet to be officially unveiled as a summer signing for Inter, Taremi found the net from the spot with 17 minutes left on the clock to help the Dragons beat Chaves 3-0 and remain third in the Liga Portugal table with two games to spare.
The goal was the Iranian’s ninth in 32 games for Porto across all competitions this season.
“He is an important player, he has a lot of experience in the Champions League games, in Europe, he scored many goals and we are happy to have him,” Inzaghi said.
“We will have a larger squad next season, so we needed more strikers,” added the Italian, whose side will be involved in the expanded Champions League next season as well as the new 32-team FIFA Club World Cup in the United States next summer.
The leading marksman in the Portuguese top flight last season, Taremi is Porto’s third all-time top scorer with 89 strikes in 179 matches – including 10 in 26 appearances in the European elite clubs’ competition.
The agreement had already been in place between Inter and the Iranian, whose Porto contract expires on June 30, since January as he will be joined by Napoli midfielder Piotr Zielinski in signing for the Italian giant.