Mauro Icardi is desperate to leave Paris Saint-Germain and the Ligue 1 giants won’t stand in his way should a club such as Tottenham Hotspur offer a fee in the region of £35 million, as reported by Foot Mercato.
One of the most prolific number nines in European football he may be but, beyond a penchant for putting the ball in the back of the net, that’s where the similarities between Icardi and Harry Kane end.
While Tottenham’s talisman has evolved into perhaps football’s best all-round centre-forward, a poacher-turned-playmaker who contributed 17 assists as well as 33 goals last season, Icardi feels increasingly ill-suited to the direction modern football is taking.
On his day, Icardi could touch the ball three times in 90 minutes and score twice.
But is there really room in this day and age for a penalty box predator who offers next to nothing from open play unless chances are served for him on a silver platter?
Icardi – a penalty box predator
That non-existent performance in the Champions League semi-final defeat to Manchester City summed it up.
And it’s telling Mauricio Pochettino has often preferred Moise Kean – a less gifted but more versatile and hard-running option – since taking over at PSG.
Icardi has started just one of PSG’s past ten Ligue 1 fixtures.
And, growing tired of a lack of regular starts, Foot Mercato reports Icardi would jump at the chance to leave Parc des Princes as things go from bad to worse.
Furthermore, FM reports PSG sporting director Leonardo would be more than happy to see the former Inter Milan captain leave.
Icardi’s agent is understood to be looking for a club in England – one capable of financing his client’s £9 million-a-year salary. In truth, those £165,000-a-week wages are just one of a number of reasons why a reported move to Tottenham feels like a non-starter.
Should Pochettino swap PSG for Spurs, don’t expect Icardi to follow him either, with Foot Mercato reporting the working relationship between manager and striker has become increasingly strained.
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