Inter Milan are exploring the possibility of signing Romelu Lukaku as a replacement for Mauro Icardi, according to reports from Italy.
Icardi’s relationship with Inter has seriously deteriorated: he was stripped of the captaincy this week and refused to travel for the club’s Europa League tie with Rapid Wien on Thursday.
Lukaku, on the other hand, has tumbled down the pecking order at Manchester United this season. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s decision to use Juan Mata and Alexis Sanchez as second half substitutes against PSG was telling.
And according to Italian media outlet Tuttomercatoweb, Icardi will be sold if the situation does not resolve itself. Inter view the £90m rated Lukaku as an ideal replacement for the Argentine, who many Man United supporters have wanted their club to sign over the last year.
Icardi has become a talisman at the San Siro in recent times, scoring 44 goals since the start of last season, but appears to be at an impasse with his employers. The situation is a sticky one. Not many recover from losing the captaincy and refusing to play a European game in the space of a week.
And if United follow the popular will of the club’s support by moving on Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez in the summer, they would surely be unable to avoid Icardi as a potential option.