- Real Madrid have been linked with a move for Mauro Icardi
- Argentina coach Sampaoli drops hint that Icardi could be keen on transfer
- Comes after Inter striker sparked rumours with Instagram post
- READ MORE: Real Madrid contact £87million Manchester United target’s entourage over smart transfer
Real Madrid haven’t enjoyed the best of seasons so far this year, and it has led to question marks being raised over their long-term plans.
Karim Benzema turns 31 later this year and has scored just six goals in 23 appearances so far this campaign, while Cristiano Ronaldo will be 33 next week and has experienced his fair share of woes this season before rediscovering some form in recent outings.
Gareth Bale’s situation is slightly different as his issue has been injury setbacks over the last two seasons, but he has featured regularly recently and is seemingly back in favour.
Nevertheless, Los Blancos remain 19 points adrift of Barcelona in the La Liga table, they crashed out of the Copa del Rey and didn’t entirely convince through the group stage of the Champions League.
In turn, speculation of big signings this summer will come as no surprise. According to Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli, Inter striker Mauro Icardi is interested in the idea of moving to the Bernabeu and so could be the solution to their problems in the final third.
“I spoke with Icardi and I told him what to do,” he told AS. “That he cannot relax and that if he does well he will be called up (to the Argentina World Cup side).
“Icardi is being watched and is almost tempted by Real Madrid.”
As per Marca, the 24-year-old has a buy-out clause in his contract with the Serie A outfit which stands at €110m, and so with the above in mind, it would suggest that Madrid may go knocking this summer to try and prise the prolific scorer away from Italy.
Icardi has scored 96 goals in 170 games for Inter since joining them from Sampdoria in 2013, and he’s well on course to register his most prolific campaign to date with 18 goals in 24 outings this year, with his best return coming in the 2014/15 season when he scored 27 times.
The Argentine ace did send tongues wagging this week with his Instagram post seen below, suggesting that: “Being able to say goodbye is to grow”.