Assessing Mauro Icardi’s options: Juventus, Man Utd, Roma or Napoli?

Antonio Conte does not want Mauro Icardi to stay at Inter, despite the Argentine’s attempts to stay at the club in the summer. It now seems certain that the striker will leave the club in the next two months.

About a year ago, he would have had many options. But today, they aren’t as diverse or as big. Perhaps the biggest option for him is Juventus- the club that has been monitoring his situation for a long time now. Albeit silently, Juve have always been keen on the Argentine.

But with Maurizio Sarri arriving at the club and Mario Mandzukic leaving, there seems to little opening for where Icardi can start on a regular basis. Sarri will play a 4-3-3 shape that he always has at Chelsea and Napoli, which means that Cristiano Ronaldo will be the undisputed starter up front.

A player like Icardi can’t be satisfied by playing second-fiddle to Ronaldo, considering how his wife-agent Wanda Nara portrays him as a superstar of the football universe. It is out of the question that Cristiano Ronaldo gets sold.

Another option is Man Utd- probably a sensible one. But reliable reports state that United have rejected the chance to swap the Argentine with Romelu Lukaku.

United already have attitude issues in the side and Icardi won’t help them, despite being a quality player who is as good as Lukaku on his day. United would want a player who remains grounded and works hard without causing too much nonsense off the pitch.

Fresh reports have also linked Roma and Napoli with a move, with links with the giallorossi making a lot of sense.

Edin Dzeko is all but set to leave Roma for Inter, leaving the Italian capital side without a first choice striker. While reports have stated that Paulo Fonseca can rely on Patrik Schick but it seems highly unlikely that Roma head into the season without a recognized goalscorer.

That’s why links with Icardi make sense, as Roma try to swap Icardi with Dzeko in a possible player plus cash deal. While a deal will be massive for Roma, it will be a slight step down for Icardi, who would want to play for a Champions League club like Juve or Inter themselves.

Indeed, Icardi would turn out to be a brilliant signing for Roma. But would he take that step down? Doesn’t seem so looking at how Wanda Nara promotes his husband.

Coming to links with Napoli, those are very fresh. The partenopei seem to be interested in Icardi but have baulked at the demands of Piotr Zielinski and Fabian Ruiz in a possible deal.

If Carlo Ancelotti does go ahead with playing the 4-4-2 at Napoli, Icardi would be a brilliant partner for Arek Milik up front. It could lead to Lorenzo Insigne’s Napoli exit but they’ll have a proper and recognized forward in the side about three years after Gonzalo Higuain left for Juventus.

The money involved will be a problem, but Napoli are a club that has finished inside the Champions League spots for the last four seasons now and Insigne’s sale could generate the money to sign Icardi.