Inter sign striker Eder on loan from Sampdoria

(Reuters) - Inter Milan signed striker Eder on a two-year loan deal from Sampdoria on Friday in an attempt to solve their chronic scoring problems. Inter, who led Serie A at the Christmas break but are now fourth and face AC Milan on Sunday, have managed only 26 goals in 21 games and have scored more than once in just three games. Frustrated coach Roberto Mancini publicly criticised his strikers after last Sunday's 1-1 draw at home to Carpi, saying that, even at the age of 51, he could have scored one of the chances missed by Mauro Icardi. He also told his forwards they could not simply wait for the ball to come to them. Brazilian-born Italy international Eder joins Inter after four years at Sampdoria, where he scored 49 goals in 135 matches and is joint second-highest scorer in Serie A this season with 12 goals. "I'm delighted to be here. I've worked hard for years to play for a big club like Inter," the 29-year-old said on the club's website (www.inter.it). Eder was raised at Brazilian club Criciuma but moved to Italy to join Empoli in 2005 as a teenager. "I think he (Eder) could bring something different from other strikers, he can also benefit the other players because he is different from them," Mancini told a recent news conference. The move could be made permanent upon fulfilment of certain conditions, the club added. Eder scored on his Italy debut against Bulgaria last March and has gone on to make eight appearances. (Reporting by Silvia Recchimuzzi and Bartosz Dabrowski in Gdynia; additional reporting by Brian Homewood in Berne; editing by Andrew Roche and Ken Ferris)