Inter were lucky at the start of the season and are now paying the price for a dreadful transfer policy, according to former defender Mauro Bellugi.

A 2-0 defeat to Genoa last Saturday saw Luciano Spalletti's side slip out of the top four in Serie A, having won just one of their last 10 league matches.

Their dismal form is in stark contrast to the first half of the season, when a 16-game unbeaten run prompted talk of a surprise title challenge.

But Bellugi, who won the Scudetto in 1971 during a five-year spell with Inter, says their wretched run should come as no surprise.

"The players are not of the highest level," the former Italy international told Tuttomercatoweb. "I expected all this because, when everyone focused on Inter at the start of the season, you just had to watch them to see how they were getting the victories.

"[Goalkeeper Samir] Handanovic was always the best player, with 10 decisive saves, and then, in cases like these, when your luck ends, this is what happens."

Bellugi thinks Inter's mismanaged transfer plans are largely to blame for their dramatic downturn in results.

Huge sums spent on the likes of Geoffrey Kondogbia, Gabriel Barbosa and Joao Mario, all of whom are currently on loan elsewhere, while reported efforts to sign Arturo Vidal and Angel Di Maria were unsuccessful.

With key players including Ivan Perisic and Milan Skriniar enduring difficult runs, Bellugi believes Inter's owners are entitled to question their investment.

"Perisic plays when he wants to," said Bellugi. "Skriniar is good but he was a disaster last Saturday. [Gary] Medel was sold for about two lire and he was a player who could have done a lot of good things.

"[Andrea] Ranocchia makes me suffer. The fact that people laugh when he touches the ball at San Siro is wretched. How are you supposed to play in those conditions?

"Unfortunately, the Inter shirt does not belong on Ranocchia or quite a few of his team-mates, but on Saturday I saw a great Diego Laxalt performance and he used to be on Inter's books.

"Effectively, there was talk of Vidal and Di Maria coming, and [Matias] Vecino and Borja Valero arrived. But money has been spent in the recent past, from Kondogbia to Gabigol and up to Joao Mario.

"Suning Group have every right to say, 'we gave you money and you spent it like this?'"