Inter Milan currently sit in pole position to win the Scudetto this season. They currently sit two points ahead of second place AC Milan, which doesn’t sound like a lot. However, over the course of this season this has been one of the biggest gaps anyway has had.

Inter will look to right the wrongs of last season, by winning this scudetto. Inter where painfully close last season losing the title to Napoli by only two points. This current squad of Inter players has been one of their best in recent history, using the 3-5-2 Inter Milan have been extremely successful.

Part of this has been due to their strength on the wings, with Federico Dimarco being the headliner of this. In his tenure in Milan he has been a consistent starter for Inter and the Italian national team. This is why Inter Milan are aiming to his contract now before it expires at the end of next season.

Federico Dimarco of FC Internazionale reacts during the Serie A football match between FC Internazionale and SSC Napoli. The match ended 2-2 tie.

The deal looks to be signed soon according to CalcioMercatoIT, a new deal which will keep him in Milan until 2030. Dimarco will also earn a pay rise once his new deal kicks in, an extra million euros per season. Inter have given Dimarco the pay rise to convince him to stay in Milan.

This is due to CalcioMercato reporting that Dimarco had offers to leave Milan. The most convincing one came from Atletico Madrid as they look to pry him away from Inter. There was also offers from the Premier League but nothing as serious as Atletico’s bid.

However, Inter could have to get rid of one of their key players as he isn’t as open to a contract extension as Dimarco. This come from reports from Emre Kaplan which states that Hakan Calhanoglu has rejected Inter’s first offer for to extend his contract, Calhanoglu deal expires at the end of next season.

AC Milan have had the biggest rise from last season, looking to compete for the title this season. Milan sit second only a point off first despite finishing 8th last season. This is mainly due to a coaching change which saw the club appoint Massimiliano Allegri to bring the club back to the top level.

This has worked so far with Allegri making signings to bring players into the side that fit his game style. This meant massive overturn from last years side, and controversial some big stars leaving. Milan sold both Tijani Reijnders and Theo Hernandez to build a less generic squad and more of an Allegri squad.

While Milan made a lot of great signings like Adrien Rabiot and Luka Modric, one of their best came from inside. Alexis Saelemaekers returned from loam for a few years and has been rejuvenated. He has slotted into this Milan team and has been one of their best players.

Luka Modric and Adrien Rabiot of AC Milan celebrate during the Serie A football match between AC Milan and US Sassuolo. The match ended 2-2 tie.

Saelemaekers has been rewarded for his good form with a contract extension with Milan. AC Milan have confirmed the extension stating that he will earn a new deal. Milan have also said that his new deal will run until 2031 and will start at the end of this season. Reports also state that his wage for Milan is doubled from 1.5 million euros per season to 3 million per season.

Bologna have seen an uprise of success in their recent history, as the club shifted their focuses. They started to look towards holding on to youth talent as they way for them to go forward. This was instead of the typical model which was to buy players from below and try to be successful sporting wise to pay off debts.

This new focus has worked extrendorinaly well for Bologna, qualifying for Uefa Champions League two years ago and winning the Coppa Italia last season. This success has seen the big sides like Juventus, Inter Milan and AC Milan rush to copy their formula, setting up U23 sides to play in Serie B.

Vincenzo Italiano, Head Coach of Bologna, lifts the Coppa Italia trophy to celebrates with fans following the Serie A match between Bologna and Genoa…

Bologna saw these success as bright spots but other sides saw this as a temporary rise in form. This was because they would sell of these young talents instead of holding onto them, and building a project for the future. This was due to the sales of young players such as Riccardo Calafiori and Joshua Zirkzee.

Now however, they have shifted their focus to try and hold onto these young players and build a squad for the future, This philosophy has been supported by a new piece of news from Nico Schira via X. This is that they are looking to extend the contract of Argentinian striker Santiago Castro.

Castro came on to the scene strong last season, playing in 47 games for Bologna last season. This lead to him earning 17 goals/assists and earning the trust of the coaching staff. This has been rewarded this season with more game time, seeing him score 4 goals already this campaign, and soon a contract extension until 2030.