Transfer News: Chelsea enter the race to sign Mauro Icardi

Chelsea have entered the race to sign Inter Milan striker Mauro Icardi, as loan club PSG haggle over the transfer fees with the Nerazzurri.

As reported by the Daily Mail, Chelsea have joined the race to sign Inter Milan striker Mauro Icardi, who is on loan at French champions Paris Saint-Germain.

Icardi fell out of favour at Inter Milan during the second half of the 2018-19 campaign and, as a result, was loaned out to PSG last summer, with an option to make the transfer permanent for a fee of £62 million.

The 27-year-old has enjoyed a fine campaign with Les Parisiens, grabbing 20 goals and 4 assists in 31 appearances across all competitions, playing a key role in PSG’s Ligue 1 title triumph in what was a curtailed season in France due to the coronavirus.

Having been impressed by the Argentine, PSG are keen on making his transfer permanent before next season, but are unwilling to pay the £62 million transfer fee. Instead, they have made a bid of £54 million (£44.7 million plus £8.9 million in add-ons), which Inter Milan have reportedly rejected (h/t The Sun).

This has allowed Chelsea a chance to swoop in and make an attempt to sign the 27-year-old centre-forward. The Blues have enjoyed a solid enough campaign under new manager Frank Lampard. At the time of the suspension of football, they were in the fourth position in the Premier League table.

However, there remain a few key areas in the squad that need to strengthened this summer, the most important being the centre-forward slot. While Tammy Abraham stepped up brilliantly in his first full-season with Chelsea, his form has dwindled since the turn of the year.

Furthermore, Olivier Giroud and Michy Batshuayi haven’t featured heavily under Lampard this season. Either one of them or both could be sold in the summer transfer window, even though Chelsea extended the former’s contract by another year.

So, it makes sense that Lampard & co. are eyeing a move for a world-class striker in the transfer window. While RB Leipzig’s Timo Werner has also been mentioned as a target, PSG dilly-dallying over the transfer fee for Icardi has opened up an opportunity for Chelsea to make a move for the 27-year-old.

Along with Chelsea and PSG, Juventus and Napoli are also in the running to sign the eight-time capped Argentine international, while Manchester United are also closely monitoring the situation. It remains to be seen if PSG do agree to meet Inter’s asking price, or the ongoing standoff allows Chelsea to snap up the striker’s signing in the summer.