Inter sign Ranocchia, loan him back to Genoa

Inter Milan have signed young centre-back Andrea Ranocchia from Genoa for an undisclosed fee, the club said Wednesday.

Ranocchia, who signed a five-year contract with Inter, joins the reigning European champions in a co-ownership deal that will see him stay at Genoa on loan for the coming season.

The 22-year-old, who has represented Italy at under-21 level, spent the last two seasons on loan at Bari having began his career in Serie B with Arezzo.

He has yet to play for Genoa since signing for them in 2008.

As part of the deal, Inter have also sent promising young forward Mattia Destro on loan to Genoa for next season.

Destro was top scorer for Inter’s under-19 team last season, finding the net 18 times.

Although champions of Italy and Europe, Inter have been much criticised for not having many Italian players on their books.

Although veteran World Cup winning defender Marco Materazzi, as well as youngsters Mario Balotelli and Davide Santon are part of the squad, none of them