Real Madrid are reportedly interested in signing Mauro Icardi from Inter Milan to take over from Karim Benzema as the club’s number one striker.
The Argentine striker moved to the San Siro from fellow Serie A outfit Sampdoria back in 2012 and has since gone on to make over 180 appearances for the club, scoring an impressive 105 goals in the process.
Icardi is widely regarded as one of the most dangerous strikers in European football at the moment, which he re-emphasised against Tottenham in the Champions League on Tuesday, scoring with a wonderful long-range volley to equalise against the Premier League side.
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After the 25-year-old’s first goal of the new season, Inter went on to win the match 2-1 in front of their home crowd and supporters will be expecting him to have another prolific year at the club to help the Nerazzurri challenge for major honours.
With 119 career goals under his belt already, Icardi has drawn interest from several high profile clubs around Europe in recent times and now Real Madrid look set to chase his signature when the transfer window re-opens in January – as Don Balon reports.
Los Blancos President Florentino Perez is apparently lining-up the Argentina international as the perfect replacement for Benzema as the first choice in attack, with the Frenchman approaching the latter stages of his career at 30 years old.
Mariano Diaz secured a permanent move to the Santiago Bernabeu over the summer to increase manager Julen Lopetegui’s options up front, but Perez is not content for the club to just rest on their laurels.
Don Balon states that Icardi would inherit the famous number 9 shirt and become the club’s main centre-forward, which may excite supporters given his reputation and scoring record at the highest level.
After Cristiano Ronaldo left Madrid over the summer, the club is on the lookout for its next talisman and the Inter hit-man certainly fits the bill as a galactico capable of making a big impact for the European champions.