Tottenham brought in Vincent Janssen as the alternative for Harry Kane should England international get injured at any point in the season – just like now. However, it seems that the Dutch international, who is already on the verge of being branded a flop, was not the first choice for Mauricio Pochettino in such circumstances.
Now, the agent of Inter Milan striker Mauro Icardi claims that her client was subjected to interest from Spurs during the summer, according to the reports from Calciomercato. Wanda Nara, who is also the striker’s wife, says that Inter Milan received an official offer from the Premier League outfit.
Icardi started his career with Barcelona before moving onto Italian football with Sampdoria. He has been at home in the Italian Serie A after only playing for Sampdoria and Inter Milan. He has been at the latter since 2013 after a €6.5 million transfer. Icardi is now worth considerably more and the player is also keen on jumping ship to a more successful club. Inter Milan may be one of the biggest clubs in Italy, but they are struggling big-time when it comes to even Champions League qualification amongst other targets.
Even though the club spent a lot of money under former boss Roberto Mancini, it has not met with an equal rise back to the top levels of the Italian Serie A. The club are now going through a different transfer philosophy and it may take a while before they are back as one of the strongest teams in Italy. Icardi may appear to have time on his side at just 23, but the Argentine remains as one of the saleable assets for Inter should they decide to strengthen the team in other areas of the pitch. Wanda Nara said:
“Given that Ausilio had asked me to bring the offers, I went to him with those of PSG, Napoli and Juventus. And there was also Tottenham, but they spoke directly with Piero.
“Nobody knows how much money Mauro gave up to stay at Inter, as well as do not know that last year there was interest from Real Madrid, and Juventus tried to sign him up to two minutes before they concluded with Higuain.”
Given how Vincent Janssen has turned out for Spurs, the club would be kicking themselves for not being able to sign Icardi. The 23-year-old has made a fabulous start to the season once again. He has scored six goals in seven appearances along with two assists. Despite Icardi being the joint top goal scorer in the Italian league, Inter finds themselves in a disappointing ninth spot. Barring a miracle, the club may miss out on a top three spot once again. The lack of Champions League football makes it highly difficult for the club to retain Icardi for long especially if the striker continues on this rich vein of form.
Icardi has a contract with Inter until 2021, which puts the balance of power within the club and not within the player. It remains to be seen if Spurs will make a move for the player once again in January.
