Official: Inter sign Mehdi Taremi - what will the Iranian striker offer Simone Inzaghi's side?
Inter have officially announced the signing of Iranian striker Mehdi Taremi on a free transfer, having secured an agreement with the former FC Porto player in the second half of the 2023/24 season.
The 31-year-old forward, who will be 32 on July 18, makes history as he becomes the first Iranian to ever play for Inter. He has signed a three-year contract with the Nerazzurri which will run until June 30, 2027.
Having spent four years being a vital part of the Porto squad under Sergio Conceicao, Taremi arrives at Inter with lots of experience when it comes to winning trophies and competing in the Champions League.
Why have Inter signed Mehdi Taremi?
There are two clear reasons as to why Inter wanted to get this deal over the line. Taremi gives them more quality depth in attack, and his goalscoring record is excellent for a player of his global profile.
Having only ever played in Iran, Qatar and Portugal, many European football fans have only seen Taremi play in the Champions League or during international tournaments with the Iranian Men's National Team.
Taremi is worshipped in Iran, having scored 49 goals in 86 matches for the national team. His most notable achievement was perhaps scoring a brace against England at the 2022 Qatar World Cup. He also helped Iran win the CAFA Nations Cup in 2023, which is contested by Central Asian nations.
For his club, Taremi has also excelled. His Porto career comes to a close with 91 goals in 182 matches, but he has also got 56 assists in that time. Despite being well-built and standing at 1.85m tall, Taremi is very creative and brings others into the play. He is not simply a presence in the box, there is a lot more to his game. He has won five trophies with Porto, including one league title.
Taremi also has 10 Champions League goals and six assists to his name, which highlights why Inter wanted him despite his age. It is no secret that the only problem with Inter's team last season was the lack of quality depth behind Marcus Thuram and Lautaro Martinez. It meant that once one or both of them had to come off, the level immediately dropped and that is part of the reason the Nerazzurri were knocked out of the Champions League by Atletico Madrid in the round of 16.
Simone Inzaghi will hope that with Taremi coming off the bench in some big games where Inter need a goal, his team has a better chance of getting over the line.