Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has backed Chelsea to sign Inter Milan hitman Mauro Icardi in the January transfer window.
Ever since Maurizio Sarri has taken over Chelsea in the summer from predecessor Antonio Conte, the 59-year-old Italian master tactician has done an admirable job. Guiding Chelsea to third place on the Premier League table and continuing his unbeaten streak this term, Sarri has received quite a few plaudits from pundits across the country.
Sarri had fallen out at Napoli with president Aurelio De Laurentiis before he took over the Chelsea job but the 69-year-old has only positive words for the Chelsea coach. De Laurentiis stated that Sarri could transform one of the hottest properties in the Serie A, Mauro Icardi into the new Cristiano Ronaldo.
Icardi has been absolutely lethal in front of goal for Inter Milan over the past few seasons and his goalscoring form has attracted interest from La Liga giants Real Madrid. With Chelsea also in dire need of a proper goalscorer, the two European giants will go head to head for the Argentine’s signature this winter.
But De Laurentiis has backed Icardi to be a perfect fit under Sarri even though he tried to lure the 25-year-old striker away from the San Siro to the Stadio San Paolo. The Partenopei president said, “I offered £55-60m, I do not remember, I met his wife, very nice. We spent an afternoon together, we negotiated a potential contract.”
De Laurentiis also stated that the Inter striker could be banging in 40 goals a season if he is under the right manager, “Icardi is a champion, he could become a new Ronaldo, and in the hands of Sarri he could make 40 goals.”
It seems quite the perfect move for Icardi to make in the winter transfer window. It’s unlikely that he will win a lot of silverware with the Italian outfit but he could make Chelsea Premier League champions and even champions on a European level.
