Davide Santon

?Mauro Icardi could be in line to become the highest-paid player in Serie A as Inter look to hand their star man a new contract.

I Nerazzurri’s star striker has drawn interest from the likes of Real Madrid due to his superb goalscoring form this term, and Inter wish to see off any would-be suitors by tying down Icardi to a fresh deal.

According to ?CalcioMercato, the Argentina international could be in talks over a new contract that could see his yearly wage rise by 25% from €6m to €8m in a bid to keep him out of their clutches.

The new deal may also included a buyout clause, with reports suggesting Icardi could command a bid of around €110m if anyone wished to poach him away from San Siro.

More concrete talks are expected to take place once the current campaign draws to a close and, with Icardi looking unlikely to be part of his national side’s squad for the World Cup, there shouldn’t be any issues negotiating terms with him and his agent.

Real could face competition from Paris Saint-Germain for the 25-year-old when the summer window opens, and both clubs will know that their deep pockets may entice Icardi to leave Italy’s top flight and chance his hand elsewhere.

25 goals for Mauro Icardi. Imagine not bringing him to the World Cup

— Siavoush Fallahi (@SiavoushF) April 17, 2018

(You may also be interested in ?Inter Director Says Nerazzurri Will Fight for Champions League Spot Ahead of Crucial Juventus Tie)

Inter, though, will look to halt that sort of incident from occurring and will want to tie down their top goalscorer for the foreseeable future.

For his part, Icardi told Ole newspaper (via Football Italia) that he ‘doesn’t know what the future holds’ but stated that Inter would always be his first love.

He said: “It’s always nice to be appreciated and I think it’s a consequence of my growth. This is why personal achievements are achieved and other big clubs appreciate you. Why I stayed? Inter have always been my team.

“I’m happy to write myself into the history of a club like Inter. It’s a source of pride for me and I could never have imagined it. It’s not easy to get these numbers in Italy, so I thank all my teammates who made it possible.”

Icardi has plundered 26 goals in just 30 Serie A games for Inter this term, and chief executive Piero Ausilio knows that the vultures are circling around and will want to extend Icardi’s stay.

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?AC Milan have made a late attempt to highjack rivals ?Inter in claiming the signature of experienced ?Juventus defender Kwadwo Asamoah. The 29-year-old, who rejected a contract extension at Juventus, has however already reached an agreement of principle with Inter Milan.

 

According to Calciomercato, the Ghana international has already bought a house in Milan and seemed destined to join Inter, but the late interest shown by AC Milan could possibly lead to renegotiations.

Asamoah joined Juventus in 2012 from Udinese and has spent his whole senior career in Italy. A move to either Inter or AC Milan would be a big boost for both clubs as they have had their defensive struggles over the season.

 

AC Milan enjoyed renewed optimism at the start of the season when former player Gennaro Gattuso was appointed manager but the Rosseneri are currently in seventh position in the Serie A, while they were also knocked out of the Europa League by Arsenal in the round of 16.

AC Milan have however, already secured the services of defender Ivan Strinic from Sampdoria at the end of the season to strengthen their defence. Strinic will join Gattuso’s side as a free agent. 

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Inter sporting director Piero Ausilio has said that the Nerazzurri will fight until the end of the season as they aim to qualify for a Champions League spot.

The San Siro side are just one point adrift of fourth-placed Lazio in fifth, but have a tough match against Serie A leaders Juventus coming up on the weekend.

The result of that fixture could go on to define their season, but director Ausilio has assured manager Luciano Spalletti that his job is safe, even if Inter finish out of Italy’s top four.

?“Spalletti is our present and our future, regardless of where we finish,” he told Rai Radio 1 in quotes cited by the club’s ?official website. “The final matches will be important because they could allow us to continue on our journey and securing Champions League football would be wonderful.

“Beyond the financial side of things, Inter must always aim for the top European competition because of the prestige but the team has improved in a lot of different ways thanks to the work from the Coach and his staff. This year, lots of things have been done well and we can obviously improve further but solid foundations have been built.”

(You may also be interested in: ??Inter Boss Luciano Spalletti Highlights Duo’s ‘Great’ Contribution in Win Over Chievo)

Ausilio is expecting the match against Juve to be a very difficult one, but reckons his side are strong enough to cope as well as fight for a top four place in the few games that remain in this campaign.

“It will be tough against Juventus because they’re a strong team and it’s rare that they get things wrong in two consecutive matches,” he remarked. 

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The entire Serie A took part in an initiative this weekend that saw players take to the pitch with a red stripe painted onto their cheek to promote a campaign that seeks to raise awareness of violence against women.

The idea behind the campaign came from Italian humanitarian organisation WeWorld Onlus, who teamed up with the players’ association and Serie A TIM, to promote an end to domestic violence.

Players and officials across the entire county took part in the campaign, with some of the Serie A’s biggest stars promoting the campaign even further on social media by using the hashtag: “#unrossoallaviolenza” (a red card against violence).

The campaign appeared to receive the most attention when Napoli travelled to Turin on Sunday in what could have been a title-clinching match for Juventus. 

But a bullet header from Kalidou Koulibaly in the 90th minute has seen the title race in Italy blown wide open, with just one point now separating Juventus and Napoli at the top of the Serie A table.

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Inter manager Luciano Spalletti has praised Marcelo Brozovic and Rafinha for their contributions against Chievo on Sunday.

The Nerazzurri weathered a late storm from the hosts as they sought an equaliser ?to run out 2-1 winners at Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi and keep within a point of the Champions League places.

It took Inter some time to get going in the match, and Chievo might have gone ahead on numerous occasions in the first half but for some brilliant goalkeeping from Samir Handanovic.
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Goals in the second half from captain Mauro Icardi and Ivan Perisic were enough to give Inter the three crucial points, but Spalletti highlighted the contributions of two other stars after the game.
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He said, as quoted by ?Soccer News: “He [Rafinha] played a great game, managing the ball and getting the team up. Brozovic gave another great performance, showing a continuity and coverage of the field that made the difference.

“It’s the team that count. The completeness of the game makes the difference and it’s no coincidence that when we gave up a bit in the final minutes, we ran into difficulties.”
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Inter have just four games remaining in Serie A and need to try and win them all to qualify for next season’s Champions League, with Roma and Lazio both looking strong.

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