- Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis has confirmed he bid for Mauro Icardi
- The Inter Milan striker has also been linked with Arsenal and Manchester United
- De Laurentiis believes Icardi could become Napoli’s Cristiano Ronaldo
- WATCH: Mauro Icardi magic seals derby delight for Inter, super hat-trick downs AC Milan
Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis has confirmed making an ambitious bid for Inter Milan striker Mauro Icardi after talks with his agent and wife.
Corriere della Sera recently linked the Argentina international as a target for Manchester United, while Gianluca Di Marzio also listed Arsenal as among his potential suitors.
Icardi has been in fine form in Serie A this season, scoring 18 goals in 22 outings for Inter to establish himself as one of Europe’s most prolific centre-forwards.
Napoli are clearly big admirers, with De Laurentiis eager to lure the player into making the switch to one of Inter’s rivals by showering him and his wife with praise.
The 68-year-old compared Icardi with Cristiano Ronaldo and called his wife Wanda Nara ‘an attractive and charming woman’, as reported by AS.
It remains to be seen if this will be enough for Napoli to see off other top clubs for Icardi’s signature, with Inter likely to favour selling the 24-year-old abroad if possible.
De Laurentiis seems confident a deal can be struck, however, saying: ‘Icardi will score 40 a season here under (manager Maurizio) Sarri and can become like Cristiano Ronaldo.
‘I tried to negotiate signing him with his wife, who is an attractive and charming woman. I offered 55 million euros. He is a champion. Will they sell to Napoli? Why not? Never say never.’
Arsenal may no longer need a new striker anyway after signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang this January, while it is questionable if Manchester United would so quickly look to replace Romelu Lukaku, despite his inconsistent first season at Old Trafford.