Inter midfielder Matteo Darmian has featured in just four Serie A matches this season, contributing zero goals and zero assists for an average rating of 6.30 — but the 36-year-old finds himself on the edge of something the club has been building toward all year: a 21st Scudetto that could be confirmed as early as next weekend.
That context matters for understanding Darmian's position at the club. His AI overall score of 70 out of 100, paired with a potential rating of 32, signals a player whose value is no longer developmental. He is a known quantity — reliable, experienced, tactically literate — deployed by Inter coach Cristian Chivu in specific situations rather than as a fixture in the starting eleven. At 36, that is not a criticism. It is a job description.
The title race has effectively closed around Chivu's Inter. Napoli's home defeat to Lazio — goals from Cancellieri and Basic settling the match at the Maradona — extended the Nerazzurri's lead to 12 points with five rounds remaining. Inter sit first with 78 points from 33 matches, a record of 25 wins, 3 draws, and 5 losses, having scored 78 goals and conceded only 29. That defensive figure is the most telling number in the standings: a back line that leaks fewer than a goal per game across a full season does not happen by accident, and players like Darmian — versatile, positionally disciplined — are part of the structural reason for it.
The summer transfer window adds another layer to Darmian's situation. Reports from Corriere dello Sport indicate Inter's recruitment focus is shifting toward younger, Italian-profile players — names like Koné, Palestra, and Vicario circulating alongside interest in Muharemovic. That directional shift does not necessarily end Darmian's role, but it does frame it: he is the experienced layer beneath a squad being gradually renovated.
For now, the arithmetic is simple. Inter need results to go their way in the coming week, and Darmian's four appearances this season suggest Chivu views him as a rotation piece rather than a starter for the run-in. His contribution to a potential title will be measured less in minutes and more in the stability he provides when called upon — a 6.30 average rating across limited appearances is not a number that demands a starting place, but it is one that justifies keeping him in the squad when the stakes are highest.
A Scudetto medal at 36, earned inside a 78-point season, would be a fitting final chapter — or a quiet continuation of one.