Inter Milan are prepared to ditch Mauro Icardi from their first team for the remaining two years of his contract as the dispute between the two parties continues to rumble.
The striker has been in a contract wrangle with the Serie A side for most of the year, but along with his wife and agent, Wanda Nara appears to have decided to stay at the club before leaving on a free in 2021.
However, Inter are set to dig their heels in over the dispute and are ready to completely freeze the Argentine out of their first team-plans for the duration of his contract, according to Gazzetta dello Sport. A solution to sell the player appears to be off the table with Icardi’s self-imposed July deadline to find a new club having already passed.
The Italian daily goes into further details over the exile, claiming he will still be allowed to train with his team-mates and the coaches at the club.
In a bid to avoid legal pitfalls, Icardi is also expected to be included in the Serie A and Champions League squads. However, they would still have no intention to play him even in the case of an emergency.
Inter face a further headache in that a replacement for the striker is no nearer to being found, with pursuits for Manchester United’s Romelu Lukaku having collapsed while a move for Roma’s Edin Dzeko also looking slim.
Even with a new manager in Antonio Conte in charge, a recall for Icardi still looks unlikely with the former Chelsea boss ready to tow the Interline of not selecting him.
Despite the contract dispute, Icardi played throughout the last campaign, scoring 17 times in 37 games for Inter in all competitions as they went on to secure Champions League football with a fourth-place finish.
