Mauro Icardi’s agent has put a price on the striker's head and it's a figure that is likely to make his suitors blush – like a West Ham goalkeeper who's just seen Wayne Rooney score from the halfway line.
According to Metro, the Inter Milan captain is worth a cool £176m, or at least that is what Wanda Nara has told Italian paper Corriere dello Sport.
Nara, who is also Icardi's wife, clearly has an acute sense of the striker's worth after watching him score 15 goals in 14 games this season for the Serie A side.
She may also be aware that Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal have all been linked with the 24-year-old in recent months, hence the exorbitant asking price for the Argentine who has won only a handful of international caps.
"Mauro is an important player and these are top clubs who have been following him for some time," said Nara. "It’s right that such an attacker, one of the most important number nines in the world, has big clubs who care about him and consider him for what he is worth."
Metro says that Icardi has a £98m release clause in his current deal, but Nara declared that her hubby was worth "at least €200m (£176m)". Asked if she had received any offers for the Inter ace, she said: "I prefer not to tell you who is calling me. It is I who talk about these things while Mauro thinks of Inter."
In time-honoured tradition, Nara said that her client was "happy" with his current situation but that didn't prevent Nara boasting: "I do not deny that there are many teams interested in him – much more than are being said."
Icardi's price tag could be the reason Jose Mourinho has, according to The Sun, told his scouts to "find me a magician". Presumably the United boss isn't after someone who can produce a string of brightly coloured handkerchiefs from their sleeve, but a playmaker who can conjure up some more goals for his side.
The Sun says that Mourinho "is determined not to play second fiddle to great rival Pep Guardiola at the Etihad" and as a result intends to splash the cash in January. The paper gives no names of possible targets but says the United board will loosen the purse strings if a player "can be found at the right price".
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