Ventola returned to Inter in 2001, but he suffered from several injuries that season, only making 16 appearances and scoring 4 goals in Serie A, as Inter narrowly missed out on the Serie A title; however, he bagged an impressive 5 goals in 9 appearances in Europe, as Inter reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup, and finished the season with a total of 10 goals in all competitions. The following season, he was not picked regularly for the first team, and he went on loan once again to Siena in 2003, where he made 28 appearances, scoring 4 goals during the 2003–04 season. Premier League side Crystal Palace signed him on transfer deadline day in August 2004 on a season-long loan but this was wrecked by injury and he only made a handful of appearances. He did however score against Southampton on the penultimate day of the season; in total he made 3 appearances and scored 1 goal during the 2004–05 season.