From the cold war to signals of peace; Mauro Icardi’s appearance on the field for Inter last night against Bayern Munich may be more significant than you think. The nerazzurri captain and number nine, is ready to commit his future to the club after a frenetic couple of weeks of claims and counter-claims.
 

Inter has, in the past few days, already prepared a new contract for the 23-year-old to extend his stay at the club until 2020 with a salary of €5 million per season plus a share of his image rights. In short, Inter wants to take a step forward and show the Argentine that he is the main man at the San Siro. A new deal, if accepted, will not be signed until September at the earliest as it’s a matter of principle to club executives to try to keep some form of leadership amidst a ferocious backdrop of pressure from the players own representatives. Now finally, there are signs of peace with the club offering guarantees, not just words, to his wife and agent Wanda Nara.  

For their part, Napoli has tried everything to bring the player to the San Paolo after the sale of Higuain to Juventus. Icardi is admired by coach Maurizio Sarri but Inter looks to be one hurdle the vesuviani cannot overcome. For the nerazzurri, it’s not a matter of price but a matter of strategy; The Suning Group do not want to introduce themselves to the nerazzurri tifosi by immediately selling their more valuable asset. It’s the intervention of the Chinese which has speeded up negotiations on a renewal and now the ball rests firmly in the court of Mauro Icardi.

Original article by Fabrizio Romano. Adapted and translated by Steve Mitchell