Former Inter striker Christian Vieri believes that only Paris Saint-Germain have a strikeforce that can compete with his former club’s pairing of Lautaro Martinez and Romelu Lukaku.
Lukaku, 26, has 21 goals and four assists in 31 games across all competitions so far this season, while Lautaro, 22, has managed 16 goals and four assists in 28 appearances.
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And Vieri believes the combination of the duo’s skill-sets and age profiles is near-unmatched across Europe, and hails Nerazzurri head coach Antonio Conte for bringing the best out of the pair.
"Lukaku is a pure centre-forward, devastating, physically strong, with a surprisingly delicate left foot,” Vieri said to Gazzetta dello Sport.
“He works hard, holds up the ball, helps his team-mates. Conte has helped Lukaku reach his physical peak.
“The pairing of Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez guarantees Inter both a present and future as a top club.
"They’re among the best three-four partnerships in the world, so considering their age and prospects, only PSG can compete with Kylian Mbappe, Neymar or Mauro Icardi."
Vieri is also impressed with the Nerazzurri’s recent acquisition of Christian Eriksen from Tottenham, a signing he believes is a step in the right direction as Inter look to challenge Juventus for the Scudetto.
Conte’s side are currently level on points with Juventus at the top of the table as the pair – with Lazio close behind – contest the fiercest Serie A title race in some time.
However, Vieri believes the nature of the squad being built means that Inter are in a good position to challenge for silverware in the future as well as the present.
“Inter want to win straight away, but with Eriksen, they also build for the future. He has so much quality, can cover all the midfield roles and the fact he chose the Nerazzurri confirms the club has grown on an international level.
“He just needs to start training the way Conte wants, which means I can guarantee he’ll go to bed very early for a while!”
Inter were beaten 1-0 in the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final against Napoli in their last outing and will hope to come back from behind in the second leg as Conte aims for a first trophy since returning to Italy.