West Ham United have been linked with the 23-year-old.
According to The Sun (via The Star), West Ham United are preparing a £25 million move for Inter Milan hitman Mauro Icardi.
The 23-year-old’s long-term future at San Siro is in doubt after falling foul of Inter’s famous – or infamous – Ultras supporters group.
The Argentine criticised the club’s fanatical fans in his autobiography Sempre Avanti, and the Inter faithful reacted by cheering his penalty miss against Cagliari last week.
With Simone Zaza struggling during his season-long loan from Juventus, and Andre Ayew and Andy Carroll both sidelined with injury, West Ham might dip into the transfer market for a striker this January.
And The Sun have reported (via The Star) that manager Slaven Bilic is weighing up a big-money offer for the controversial South American marksman.
Bilic spent a club-record £20.5 million on bringing in Ayew from Swansea in the summer, but the ex-Marseille forward suffered a thigh injury in August and is not due back for a couple of weeks.
The Irons’ activity in January may hinge on how Ayew copes with the expectancy of being West Ham’s go-to-guy when he returns, while it is growing increasingly harder to rely on Carroll following his latest setback.
He has managed only 81 games for the Hammers in some four-and-a-half years at the club. Icardi is expensive, but with 58 goals from 111 Inter outings, he may be worth it.
The Mirror reported back in May that Icardi had discussed the idea of joining West Ham with compatriot Manuel Lanzini, who enjoyed a fine first season with the Irons last term.
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