Serie A

Napoli have thrown their hat into the ring in the pursuit of Mauro Icardi, the Inter and Argentina striker who has been widely linked with a move to Real Madrid.

The 24-year-old from Rosario has been in the news this week after he reportedly got into an argument with Ivan Perisic and Marcelo Brozovic after the 1-1 draw against Spal and has been rumoured to be looking for a way out of Inter for some time.

De Laurentiis: "Will they sell to Napoli? Why not?"

Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis has made no secret of his desire to sign the forward and recently revealed he had contact Icardi’s wife and agent, Wanda Nara, with a 55-million-euro offer, which was rejected. However, the film mogul said he was not going to give up on the player: “Icardi will score 40 a season here under Sarri and can become like Cristiano Ronaldo. I tried to negotiate signing him with his wife, who is an attractive and charming woman. I offered 55 million euros. He is a champion. Will they sell to Napoli? Why not? Never say never…”

Icardi is under contract at the San Siro until 2021 but it is expected the Nerazzurri will make him a fresh offer with a prohibitive release clause to ward off interest from Madrid and elsewhere. However, the club are in no hurry to push a new deal through: “The renewal? When the board feels it is the right moment, we’ll sit down and talk,” said sporting director Piero Ausilio last week.