What’s the rumour?
Mauro Icardi is one of the hottest prospects in world football and is open to a move away from the San Siro. Inter Milan are trying to offload their star striker after comments made by his controversial wife and agent, Wanda Nara, over a new deal. Owing to the controversy, Inter stripped the Argentine off of captaincy, and he has been out of the squad for nearly a month now.
The Argentine wishes to continue playing in Serie A, while Inter would be more oriented towards selling him to a club outside Italy. As the saga intensifies, Manchester United have been linked with swapping Romelu Lukaku for the want-away Inter Milan striker, according to sources. Although the Belgian is gaining some momentum under Ole Gunnar Solskjær, the Red Devils are willing to trade him for Icardi. On the other hand, Nerazzurri have also been long-time admirers of the United no. 9.
In case you didn’t know…
Icardi is on the radar of Real Madrid and Chelsea as well, but Manchester United appear to be the front runners to secure his signature. The contract saga has seen Real Madrid cool off their interest in Icardi and look for other alternatives.
Icardi has scored 15 goals in all competitions this season compared to Lukaku's tally of 13. The former Inter captain would most definitely bolster United's attacking line if he secures a move to Old Trafford.
The heart of the matter
The controversy between Wanda Nara and Inter's representatives has seen Icardi in hot water. The Italian club wants to offload the star striker to prevent the team's harmony from being disrupted.
Despite the dispute going public, Inter are still hoping to sell Mauro Icardi for around £90 million this summer. The proposition of Manchester United willing to add Lukaku into the mix may tempt Inter to go ahead with the deal as per various reports.
Manchester United look like they would be benefiting more if the move comes off, but Inter would be happy too as they can possibly offload a player, who is causing all kinds of problems and is adversely affecting the team's harmony, and be able to replace him with a similar player in Lukaku. The Belgian is a proven goalscorer in one of the toughest league in the world.
What’s next?
Icardi will have a huge decision to make in the summer as other clubs will be interested in him too. One thing looks certain for now; Icardi will probably leave the Nerazzurri at the end of the season. If Inter do agree to sell him to United, they would definitely push for Lukaku to be included in the deal.