Chelsea have been linked with a big-money move to address their goalscoring issues, and the Blues have seemingly been handed a huge boost for one of their targets.
Antonio Conte’s side managed to score just 62 goals in 38 Premier League games last season, giving them the lowest tally of the top six sides.
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In turn, it could be argued that that was a significant factor in why they failed to qualify for the Champions League, finishing five points adrift of Liverpool in fourth as they simply lacked any consistency in their goalscoring.
According to The Sun, Chelsea have been linked with a £96m summer swoop for Inter striker Mauro Icardi, as per his release clause, and as noted by Nerazzurri boss Luciano Spalletti, he’s essentially hinted that if a club comes in with a bid to meet that figure, then he has little say in what happens with his striker.
“When we left we were planning for a probable future where Mauro is in the number 9 shirt,” he said of a meeting with sporting director Piero Ausilio, as per Calciomercato. “Next season he’ll score many more goals than last season, so finding another player to do what he’s done wouldn’t be easy.
“But if someone comes, pays what they have to pay, and the player wants to go, what I think becomes redundant.”
Naturally, Spalletti will be desperate to see Icardi stay at the San Siro. The 25-year-old has scored 107 goals in 182 games since joining the club in 2013, while he now leads them as captain and has firmly established himself as their goalscoring talisman.
Nevertheless, the Italian tactician makes a valid point about how the situation could be beyond his control, and so it firstly remains to be seen if Chelsea are willing to meet Icardi’s release clause in order to push forward with negotiations.