Mauro Icardi’s time in the French capital could be entering the final few weeks unless Paris Saint-Germain decides to pay the €70 million it would take to turn his season-long loan into a permanent deal with the Ligue 1 leaders.
It’s a difficult decision for Leonardo, PSG’s sporting director, because of Icardi’s up-and-down season. The Argentine got off to a flying start in PSG colors, scoring 14 goals before the calendar flipped to 2020. Since then though, Icardi has struggled, scoring only six goals and was benched for both games against Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League.
If Icardi wants to be in Paris, then €70 million is a bargain for a player of his quality. With Edinson Cavani at the end of his current contract, losing both would put PSG in a difficult situation of having to bring in a world-class striker in the upcoming transfer window.
There’s no question that Juventus FC defender Giorgio Chiellini would choose to keep Icardi if he were running PSG. In his soon-to-be-released autobiography (via Onze Mondial), Chiellini lauds Icardi as one of the best attackers he’s ever gone up against.
“Among the great attackers I have faced, I highly value Icardi, who inside the area is almost impossible to mark,” reads an excerpt from his book. “Mauro against Juve has often scored, it hurt me. He’s a world-class center-forward, even if he lacks something in the collective game, he’s a Trezeguet but with different characteristics, lethal in the aerial game but perfectible outside the surface.”
That’s high praise from one of the best defenders the game has ever seen and it’s true that Icardi was the best goal-poacher earlier this season. All that’s left is to convince Icardi the best place for him is Paris and pay Inter Milan the necessary funds to make him a permanent PSG player.
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