Overview

• Romelu Lukaku sustained a pre-season thigh injury and could miss up to four months, with a new centre-forward addition expected before the Sept. 1 deadline.
• Kevin De Bruyne headlines arrivals that also include Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, Sam Beukema, Miguel Gutierrez, Noa Lang and Lorenzo Lucca.
• Antonio Conte stayed on after summer uncertainty, providing the champions with rare stability heading into their title defense.
• Napoli scored about 20 fewer league goals than Inter last season, heightening the impact of Lukaku’s absence as the opener at Sassuolo approaches on Saturday.
• Inter are framed as the chief threat under Cristian Chivu following Simone Inzaghi’s departure, with the race reshaped by major moves such as Victor Osimhen to Galatasaray, Mateo Retegui to Al-Qadsiah and Tijjani Reijnders to Manchester City.