Jose Mourinho's 4-3-3 formation was an absolute revelation during his first two seasons at Chelsea. The defence was watertight; the midfield was efficient, both defensively and offensively, while up-front the likes of Arjen Robben, Damien Duff and Joe Cole caused havoc in the wide roles, with the man-animal figure of Didier Drogba inflicting the damage in the central position.

Chelsea romped home to successive Premier League trophies, until a certain Roman Abramovich decided to get involved, signing two, unnecessary, big name players who weren't made for the 4-3-3 system - Michael Ballack and Andriy Shevchenko. Mourinho battled against the tide during Manchester United's title-winning 2006/07 campaign, trying to find solutions, but eventually he decided he'd had enough of Abramovich's interference, leaving by "mutual consent" early into last season.

Having since returned to the game with Inter, Mourinho has revealed that he plans to implement his 4-3-3 system at San Siro.

The day he took the job, it was clear that Inter did not possess the wide players who could fit into this formation. Amantino Mancini has since arrived from Roma, and Porto's Ricardo Quaresma may follow, but there are still question marks whether this represents the Nerazzurri's best way forward.

For starters, the club possesses a whole host of strikers who can only play in the central attack role. These include Adriano, Julio Cruz and Hernan Crespo. David Suazo seems to be a mix between a central and wide player, while there are doubts whether Ibrahimovic can fit into this system. The Swede certainly can't play on the right or the left, while a central role would rob him of all his creativity. He is also far too undisciplined. Mario Balotelli could certainly adjust to the winger role, but could a 36-year-old Luis Figo? With so many options, Mourinho would do well to keep everyone happy. Based on the above, how also could Adriano and Ibrahimovic share the same field together?

Intriguingly, 'The Special One' provided an answer to this final problem on Wednesday. Instead of playing with two wide men and a striker, he would employ three "pure strikers", thus enabling Adriano and Ibrahimovic to co-exist together.

"We always have a philosophy and a starting point. The 4-3-3 is the scheme I really like and when I talk about this scheme I mean three pure strikers," Mourinho said.

"The position of the strikers isn't important and it can change from match to match. The challenge will be defending with three players in the midfield in order to give the team the complete freedom of going on the pitch with three strikers. At that point playing Adriano and Ibrahimovic together won't be a problem."

While Mourinho's judgment cannot be doubted, as he is quite possibly the best tactician in world football. If anyone can make it work, it is Mourinho. However, there are serious reservations at the prospect of three "pure strikers" such as Ibrahimovic (not that the Swede could be called 'pure'), Adriano and say Cruz all playing together. It would be extremely difficult to find the right blend. Those who are not fans of big six foot-plus forward partnerships will need some convincing over the link-up of Adriano and Ibrahimovic in particular. And if Mourinho does decide to play with three pure strikers, where does this leave Mancini? And what about Figo? Neither can play in a three-man midfield.

This brings us onto the midfield itself. Inter should have fewer problems here. Cambiasso, Vieira, Zanetti, and even Chivu can all prosper in this tactical set-up. Even though they will be a man down, these players are extremely intelligent and have fantastic defensive qualities. The main question mark revolves around where the goals, and creativity, will come from in this area. Frank Lampard would help solve the former, not the latter, but his transfer is still very much in limbo.

Inter's defence is still the strongest in Serie A by quite some distance, and with Mourinho's tactical expertise it can surely only get even better. The possible problem revolves around the formation, as the coach himself admitted. The Italian league is much slower than English league, and midfield possession is far more important, so could a lack of numbers in this area leave the defence under-protected?

It will be fascinating to see how Mourinho approaches the new campaign from a tactical point of view. All that has been said, people find it very hard to believe that he will employ three pure strikers in the mould of Ibrahimovic, Adriano and Cruz.