Chelsea
Chelsea Ahead Of Man Utd In Race For €40m-Rated Striker Despite Contract Talks
Chelsea remain in pole position to sign Manchester United target Mauro Icardi despite the striker holding talks with Inter Milan over a new contract.
The January transfer window is now closed but that won’t stop the newspapers from speculating ahead of the summer so we’ll bring you all the news and gossip. Today, Chelsea are in pole position to sign Man Utd target Mauro Icardi….
Chelsea remain in pole position to sign Manchester United target Mauro Icardi despite the striker holding fresh talks with Inter Milan over a new contract, according to reports in Italy.
Icardi has become one of the most sought after strikers in Europe after enjoying an excellent season with Inter that’s seen him score 19 goals in 31 appearances in all competitions so far.
The Serie A giants are desperate to tie him down to a new deal but reports last month suggested that negotiations over an extension were reaching breaking point, with the striker believed to be demanding a huge wage increase.
The uncertainty over his future led to speculation linking Icardi with a move away from the San Siro with Chelsea and Manchester United among those reportedly keen on luring him to the Premier League this summer.
Icardi responded to the rumours by admitting he’s honoured to be linked with the Premier League clubs and want’s to be playing in the Champions League in order to boost his chances of being a regular for his country, but insists that he’s only focussed on winning something with Inter Milan.
“I’m not interested in rumours, what counts is winning with Inter.”
“But if the ones are real about United, Chelsea and Liverpool then I’d be honoured, because they are big clubs, but I’m already in a great team where I can win something important.”
“I would certainly like to play in the Champions League, it’s what every player wants and it would give me a boost towards wearing the shirt of Argentina.” Icardi is quoted as saying by the Express.
The latest reports from Italy say that Icardi has held fresh talks with Inter and negotiations are understood to be ‘delicate’, with the Argentinean hitman demanding €3m-per-season and control his own image rights.
It remains to be seen whether Inter will be prepared to meet those demands but calciomercato.com suggests that Chelsea are in pole position to secure his signature if Icardi is to leave the San Siro this summer.
The Italian news outlet states that even if the 22-year-old was to sign an extension over the coming weeks it wouldn’t end the possibility of a summer move as Inter would find it difficult to turn down a sizeable offer, with reports suggesting €40m would be enough to persuade them to cash-in.
READ MORE –> Chelsea transfer news | Man Utd transfer news
That kind of money shouldn’t be a problem for the likes of Chelsea or United, so it’s certainly going to be interesting to see how this all develops over the coming weeks.
Jose Mourinho is going to need to bring in a replacement for Didier Drogba this summer while Louis van Gaal may also be on the look-out for a striker if he turns down the chance to make Radamel Falcao’s loan move permanent, and Icardi appears to be on the radar of both managers.
