Vieri: 'Ronaldo departure makes Inter Serie A favourites'

Christian Vieri thinks Inter are favourites for the Serie A title following Cristiano Ronaldo's departure from Juventus.

Ronaldo brought his three-year stay at Juve to an end by re-signing for Manchester United in a £20 million ($28m) deal on deadline day.

The Bianconeri slumped to a fourth-place finish in Serie A in the Portuguese's final year in Turin, but he fired them to the Scudetto in both of his previous seasons and Vieri thinks his absence will give Inter an advantage as they bid to retain the trophy in 2021-22.

It has been suggested that the likes of Federico Chiesa and Paulo Dybala will step up to fill the void left by Ronaldo, but Vieri now believes Simeone Inzaghi has a stronger squad at his disposal at San Siro than Massimiliano Allegri has at Allianz Stadium.

"Who wins the Scudetto? Before Cristiano Ronaldo left I said: Juve attack stronger, Juve stronger," the former Nerazzurri striker told Gazzetta dello Sport. "Now I put Inter in front. I'm not convinced when I hear speeches like 'now Dybala, [Alvaro] Morata and Chiesa will give more."

Juve managed to bring Moise Kean back to the club from Everton to bolster their attacking ranks after Ronaldo's exit, but Vieri has major doubts over whether he can have a similar impact.

"When Ronaldo leaves, there is no better choice, someone else will have to score the goals he scored," he added. "Kean? I don't think so, but you have to judge him after a whole championship."

Inter lost their own talismanic figure in the summer transfer window, with Romelu Lukaku re-joining Chelsea for £98 million ($135m) after two impressive years in the Italian capital.

Lukaku scored 24 goals to help the Nerazzurri win the Scudetto for the first time in 11 years last term, but Inzaghi has been able to bring in Edin Dzeko from Roma as his replacement. Inter also still have Lautaro Martinez and Alexis Sanchez to call upon, while Joaquin Correa can provide extra support after joining the club on loan from Lazio.

Asked whether Dzeko can pick up the mantle from Lukaku and be the difference-maker in the final third, Vieri replied: "Lukaku is irreplaceable, but Inter have taken Dzeko: he does not have the same physical power, he is six years older, but he is a technical forward, of the highest quality, he scores goals and makes the team play well.

"You can't replace Lukaku, but you can try to replace him and Inter have done well with Dzeko."