Inter's English Revolution: Why Serie A Matters Again

Inter have spent 118 years barely touching the English market. This summer, they’ve smashed that habit to pieces in a single window.

John Stones, Djed Spence and Curtis Jones have all walked through the doors at Appiano Gentile. Three Englishmen in one mercato for a club that had previously treated players from that island like rare curiosities. Now they are a core part of Simone Inzaghi’s next Inter.

Each has arrived for his own reasons. Together, they tell a story about how Serie A – and Inter in particular – has become a serious destination again for Premier League talent.

Stones leaves the comfort of Manchester for a tactical crucible

Stones turned 32 in May. A month later, his Manchester City contract ran out and with it a decade-long chapter under Pep Guardiola. He could have stayed in England, taken the familiar route: another Premier League club, same language, same rhythm, same stadiums.

He chose the opposite.

"It was something I had always wanted to do and, when this opportunity came up, I spoke about it with my family, and we were certain: we wanted to come here," he told Inter’s media channel.

That line matters. Not “I wanted to go abroad” in the abstract. “We wanted to come here.” To San Siro. To a league that still sells itself to defenders as a university of suffering and detail.

"I want to learn new things, understand a new way of playing and experience a new league. I can't wait to start this new chapter and this new journey. I couldn’t imagine a better place to do it."

For a player who has already been reshaped by Guardiola’s demands, Italy is a different kind of classroom. Less chaos, more chess. Less “win your duels” and more “don’t switch off for a single second”.

Fikayo Tomori, across the city at AC Milan, summed it up to The Athletic.

"In England, intensity is, 'We've got to be at them, run harder than them' - everything like that," he said. "Here, it's mental not only in the preparation for the game and dealing with outside pressures and fan expectation.

"What they value so much here is being concentrated and locked into the game for 90 minutes."

It sounds simple. It isn’t. One lapse, one wrong step, one poor decision – and an Italian side pounces. That’s the environment Stones is walking into. At 32, he hasn’t come for a soft landing. He’s come for a final, demanding act.

Spence comes back wiser – and unafraid for his England prospects

Djed Spence already knows what that world looks like. His six‑month loan at Genoa in the second half of the 2023-24 season didn’t just give him minutes. It gave him perspective.

"You learn so much when you play abroad," the full-back said. "I can say I became a man when I was abroad and I'm grateful for the experience."

Many English players have feared that same move would shut the international door in their face. Tomori certainly felt the chill at times during Gareth Southgate’s tenure, despite starring for Milan. Serie A’s recent European record has not helped the perception; too many early exits, too many flat nights.

Spence doesn’t see it as a barrier. Inter help explain why.

While Italian clubs have stumbled in Europe, the Nerazzurri have been the exception, reaching two Champions League finals in three seasons between 2023 and 2025. They slipped on Bodo-Glimt in last season’s play-off round, a shock that still stings, but their overall trajectory has been upwards, not sideways.

That kind of platform still speaks loudly in England. Spence knows it. So do Stones and Jones.

Curtis Jones, San Siro and the pull of a “12th man”

For Jones, the lure was as much emotional as tactical. He has already felt Inter up close.

"I played against them for Liverpool and they're a team that loves having the ball," he told the club’s official website. "There are players here who can score lots of goals, create assists and make plenty of chances. You can feel how united this squad is."

He didn’t stop there.

"Inter can compete with the very best teams in the world. You can also feel the hunger that's here, and, as I've already said, the support from the fans is unbelievable. The Inter supporters really are the 12th man."

One moment stuck with him: that Champions League tie at San Siro.

"The biggest thing was the feeling I had last season when I played against Inter in the Champions League and experienced the passion their fans have for the team. Of course, you can also talk about the trophies, the Club's history and all the great players who have worn this shirt. But the fans were the decisive factor.

"I was out on the San Siro pitch and I could hear them singing and supporting the players throughout."

For some, that’s noise. For a player looking for a new stage, it’s oxygen.

A city that lives off noise and nuance

Tomori, from the other side of the Derby della Madonnina, knows exactly what Jones is talking about. Different colours, same wall of sound.

"Having these ultra passionate fans who just sing for 90 minutes. Not even 90 minutes. They’re there before we’re out warming up," he said. "They’re there after the game. Even that in itself is another nuanced thing that makes it so special."

He used to try to describe it to friends. They didn’t get it. Then they came to the Giuseppe Meazza and saw – and heard – it for themselves.

Tomori became one of Serie A’s most convincing salesmen. He spoke to Ruben Loftus-Cheek before the midfielder swapped Chelsea for Milan. When Tammy Abraham weighed up Roma, Tomori messaged him too: "Bro, this is a really good league!"

The days of the 1990s and early 2000s, when every superstar seemed to funnel into Italy, are gone. The money, the glamour, the global spotlight have spread elsewhere. Yet the league still has an edge that former players like Micah Richards have been quick to highlight. "Serie A is very, very underrated," he has argued.

Players are starting to listen again.

The McTominay effect – and why Jones’ gamble makes sense

Look at Scott McTominay. A Scot, not English, but his story will have landed hard in dressing rooms across the Premier League.

Like Jones, he was tied to one English club – Manchester United – and often shuffled around positions. He went to Serie A to find himself in his preferred role. He picked Naples. It could have gone badly.

Two years later, “McFratm” is a scudetto winner and one of the most adored players in Napoli’s modern history. His popularity is not just about goals. He has thrown himself into everything: language, history, architecture, food. He even raves about the tomatoes.

"It was a huge decision for me, but at times in your life you just have to go for it," he told The Times. To "hit the ground running in Serie A isn’t always easy," he admitted. The league is "more tactical" than the Premier League, and plenty of players have struggled to adapt.

"So, it's not easy going abroad, but it’s been quite seamless for me, to be fair, in terms of how much the Italian people have helped me settle."

That is the template in front of Jones now. Expecting him to replicate McTominay’s Maradona‑like status in Naples would be unfair. But the path is there: leave the comfort zone, trust the football, trust the culture.

There’s another key difference to the old days. English players used to arrive in Italy alone, culturally and linguistically isolated, counting the days until the next flight home. Jones walks into the best team in Serie A alongside two compatriots in Stones and Spence.

The league might still feel foreign. Milan might still feel like a different planet compared to Liverpool or Manchester. But with three Englishmen in the same dressing room at Inter, it will feel a little less like “living in a foreign country” – and a lot more like the start of something that could reshape how Premier League players look at Serie A again.