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Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti has confirmed the club will try to strengthen during this month's transfer window.
Inter missed the chance to close the gap on Serie A leaders Juventus, who lost at Sampdoria, as a first team decimated by injuries and suspensions went down 3-0 at the Stadio Friuli.
Both Moratti and head coach Andrea Stramaccioni had previously urged caution over excessive spending in the transfer window, with the club eager to offload high earners including Wesley Sneijder before bringing in expensive talent.
But following yesterday's events in Udine, and considering the continued absence of nine injured first-team players, Moratti held an emergency meeting at the club's head offices in which he conceded modest reinforcements would be targeted.
He told inter.it: "I can confirm that it will essentially be like that, where the names being discussed are good players.
"But it is also a window where - just like at other clubs - we certainly don't intend to spend too much.
"Listen, I think it's very important to weigh things up when we have everyone back fit because at the moment we're talking about new signings without considering that we might end up buying a player similar to one we already have.
"The most important thing is to get our players on the sidelines back fit. It's hard to assess things when we have 10 or 12 players missing through injury and suspension.
Inter are now nine points shy of Juventus having run the Italian champions close for much of the autumn, but only four points separate the chasing pack after a weekend of shock results.
"The fact the sides around us have dropped points means we're still in there, but we must not worry too much about that, we need to look at ourselves," he added.
"Perhaps I wasn't expecting to top the league but there was always the potential to do well, along with the belief of the players.
"We've got a good team though and, as I've said, it's crucial to get back players who we identified as important at the start of the season."
Inter have already signed veteran striker Tommaso Rocchi for an undisclosed fee, while reports in Italy have linked the club with a move for Chievo goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino.
The 21-year-old spent the first half of the campaign on loan with the Buddies but returned to his parent club last week ahead of their FA Cup third-round clash with Brighton.
While the Premier League side slid to a surprise 2-0 defeat against Gus Poyet's Championship outfit, Dummett fulfilled his boyhood ambition by making his first-team bow when St James' Park boss Alan Pardew introduced him a as a half-time substitute.
But the young defender believes he will improve further if he returns to Paisley for a second loan stint.
He now hopes to once more swap the black and white stripes of Newcastle for those of the Saints and is praying the deal is completed before Danny Lennon's men face Celtic in the Scottish Communities League Cup semi-final on January 27.
Dummett said: "I loved my time at St Mirren. For a Newcastle lad playing for the club, it's not easy moving away but St Mirren was the right choice.
"I played 19 games and picked up some really good experience of playing at a competitive level. I played in front of some big crowds like 40,000 at Celtic Park. There's no doubt that has helped my development as a player.
"I have definitely come back to Newcastle a better player.
"Danny Lennon is a really good manager and I can't fault a single thing about the club. It was his help that allowed me to make my debut for Newcastle.
"But I'm hopeful that I will come back to Saints for another six months. I've improved so much with them this season and I want to continue that development before going back to Newcastle a much better player in the summer.
"It's not in my hands but, if both sides can make it work, returning before the semi-final with Celtic is the plan."
Dummett replaced James Perch for the second half of Saturday's match at the Falmer Stadium but insists that even the pain of the cup upset could not take the shine off his big moment.
He said: "I was very proud. I'm a local boy and all local boys in Newcastle dream of playing for the club.
"It was a poor result for the team but inside I was buzzing for myself. It was a dream come true."
Dummett was the first player to benefit from a newly-struck affiliation deal between Newcastle and St Mirren that will see the best of Pardew's young talent head north in order to gain top-team knowledge.
Best pal and fellow Geordie recruit Conor Newton has also followed the road north and another Magpies teenager could soon join him.
Now Dummett has encouraged any youngsters offered the chance of a switch to Scotland to grab it with both hands.
He said: "There was guys from Newcastle coming to watch me and I also went back down a couple of times and spoke to the manager down there.
"He had been getting reports on me and was pleased with my progress. That was great to hear and he obviously meant it as he put me straight in the squad when I got back and then gave me the second half against Brighton.
"A lot of people see the SPL as a Mickey Mouse league but that's not how I view it. There are a lot of good players up here and a lot of good players at St Mirren.
"Conor Newton is already up here and if any other Newcastle lads were thinking about joining St Mirren on loan I'd definitely recommend it. The SPL doesn't get the credit it deserves."
Justin Richards is set to continue in attack for Oxford as James Constable serves the second game of his three-match ban.
The 32-year-old started for the U's against Sheffield United on Saturday having just returned for a second loan spell with the club on Friday.
With fellow forwards Deane Smalley and Jon-Paul Pittman still sidelined and Constable suspended, the Burton forward is set to continue alongside Tom Craddock at the Kassam.
But one new signing who will not feature against Southend is loanee Lewis Montrose who is cup-tied having already featured in the competition for parent club Gillingham this season.
Manager Chris Wilder is unlikely to make too many changes to his side but could recall Michael Raynes in the heart of defence and rest Michael Dubbery.
"We've just got to go and not get knocked out of two cup competitions in the space of a week," he told the Oxford Mail.
Midfielder Marc Laird is cup-tied for Southend.
Laird, who turned his loan switch from Leyton Orient into a permanent deal on Friday, sits out at the Kassam Stadium having played earlier in the competition for his former club.
On-loan striker Britt Assombalonga will be assessed ahead of the tie having missed Saturday's 2-2 FA Cup third-round draw at home to Brentford with his troublesome ankle and shin injury.
However, should Assombalonga even be passed fit then he will face a tough ask regaining his starting spot after Barry Corr stepped in and bagged a brace against the Bees to rescue an FA Cup replay.
The controversial Italian might even have claimed a hat-trick, but passed up the opportunity to take any of City's two penalties in the modest surroundings of City's academy base at Platt Lane.
Balotelli returned to first-team action after an absence of five games, four of them due to a virus, as a substitute in Saturday's 3-0 FA Cup win over Watford at the Etihad Stadium.
He had been involved in a training-ground bust-up with manager Roberto Mancini just two days earlier but the City boss, who was photographed grappling with the player, described the incident as "nothing".
Mancini said he was prepared to give Balotelli, who has been involved in a series of controversies on and off the field, "another 100 chances" to reform his ways and downplayed speculation he could leave.
His unexpected outing in the elite development squad's 4-0 win over Blackburn will help improve his match-fitness ahead of this Sunday's Premier League trip to Arsenal.
Balotelli is challenging for a place following confirmation over the weekend that last season's top scorer Sergio Aguero has torn a hamstring.
That could keep him out for several weeks, while Samir Nasri has one game of a three-match suspension remaining and Yaya Toure, Kolo Toure and back-up forward Abdul Razak are with Ivory Coast ahead of the African Nations Cup.
Yaya Toure, City's midfield driving force, has been treated at a clinic for a cough and a fever while at his country's training camp in Abu Dhabi, but his brother has said he is "back on his feet".
The defender added on City's website: "Yaya had a couple of days off. Apart from that, everything is going very well at the training camp and we are happy to be here."
City were short on senior numbers last weekend with defenders Maicon and Aleksandar Kolarov also on the sidelines with knee problems and Jack Rodwell and Micah Richards long-term casualties.
Portuguese teenager Marcos Lopes was handed a debut off the bench in the closing minutes and scored the third goal against the Hornets.
The club have confirmed that, at 17 years and eight days, Lopes became the youngest goalscorer in their history.
