Unless you’ve been living under a rock, it won’t have escaped your attention that Mauro Icardi is once again in the tabloids for all the wrong reasons. The Inter captain has been stripped of the armband, his team are performing well without him, and his wife cum agent has been stirring the pot again.
The situation is markedly different over at arch rivals AC Milan. Only last month they ditched superstar striker Gonzalo Higuain for a relatively unproven gamble by signing Krzysztof Piatek from Genoa, and it’s reaping rewards.
Once again Inter’s season isn’t living up to the high hopes that come with such a level of expenditure over successive seasons. The league is once again long gone as the Nerazzurri trail leaders Juventus by a gaping 20 points.
Not all is lost though. Silverware is in sight. Inter may be out of the picture for domestic honours after being dumped out of the Coppa Italia to Lazio last month, but they remain strong contenders to take the Europa League title back to northern Italy.
In fact Inter are amongst the favourites to lift the trophy with most bookies backing them at around 9/1. To weigh up the best deposit bonus ahead of a bet on Inter, go to BetBlazers.com, also a great source for betting tips, match previews and betting guides. Silverware is sorely needed and their first trophy since 2011 would be welcomed with open arms.
Despite the dearth of honours in recent times, Inter Milan can still boast to be one of Europe’s super clubs, and quite rightly too. They have the financial clout, regularly compete at the top of one of Europe’s major domestic leagues, and consistently feature in European competition.
Even though Inter can still claim to be in the higher echelons of world football, the lack of trophies and a missing presence in the Champions League knockout stages means they do find it harder to compete for the best players, which is essentially the crux of the matter at hand.
Both Icardi and his wife are high profile and outspoken personalities, and the fact that Icardi has been one of the only constant and consistent players for the club in recent years would imply that they feel they can hold the club to ransom.
Whatever the specific reasons behind Luciano Spalletti stripping his top striker of the armband, it’s a decision that was long overdue, if not inevitable in the long run. Icardi’s attitude can be questionable at times, and the fact that his wife and agent is a TV personality in Italy was bound to lead to a clash of interests at some point.
The club have a decision to make, and they should look no further than their nearest neighbours to learn how to deal with self-inflated and troublesome strikers.
The ink is barely even dry on Milan’s latest deal, signing Krzysztof Piatek from Genoa in a €35 million signing that’s already looking worth every cent and more.
Piatek arrived in Serie A only last summer from Polish side Cracovia Kraków and made immediate noise with an outstanding 19 goals in just the first half of the season.
Barely six months into his loan deal from Juventus, Higuain looked like a shrewd move for an AC Milan that has lacked starpower as well as firepower in contrast to the golden days of Kaka and Shevchenko.
However Higuain in the famous and black and red stripes was far from a perfect fit in the end. A lack of success in front of goal eventually tipped over come January, and a move to Chelsea to join his former Napoli mentor Maurizio Sarri looked an escape route too good not to take.
Milan coach Gennaro Gattuso, known for not mincing his words, said that in those final days Higuain had put in the worst training session he’d ever seen in his professional career. With the added insult of a viral video of the Argentinian taking out his boss with a crunching tackle from behind.
Milan were forced to act. The Rossoneri took a gamble on Piatek because they had to. They sprang into action amidst difficult circumstances, where they normally would’ve monitored a player for at least the remainder of the season.
Now that gamble in Piatek is paying off, the Pole has so far netted six in all competitions for Milan. Inter would do well to take a leaf out of Milan’s book when it comes to Icardi.
Despite the armband, the on pitch performances, and above all the goals, Icardi lost the club’s hardcore support a long time ago after slamming Inter’s ultras in a tell-all book. Now he’s lost his manager, who at one time went as far as proclaiming he was a ‘great guy and great professional’.
If Inter do decide to do away with Icardi it brings up two key questions: who will serve as his replacement, and who do they sell him to. Whoever they offload the striker to, should they choose to go down that route, they’ll undoubtedly recoup their €13 million outlay when he arrived from Sampdoria back in 2013.
Inter won’t be interested in simply recouping but will want to maximise profit at any rate. Real Madrid have reportedly been interested, but the baggage that comes with Icardi won’t be attractive to the Spanish giants.
Milan have proven with their move for Piatek that sometimes it’s simply nothing ventured, nothing gained. Icardi and his troublesome entourage just aren’t worth the hassle.
Source: forzaitalianfootball.com