Football

PSG reach £45m agreement with Internazionale to sign Mauro Icardi

• Argentinian forward to join permanently after loan
• Clubs agree €50m initial fee with €7m in add-ons

Paris Saint-Germain are set to land their first major signing of the summer after reaching an agreement with Internazionale for Mauro Icardi.

The Argentinian striker has spent the season on loan at PSG and the clubs have struck a deal worth €50m (£45m), plus €7m in add-ons, to make the transfer permanent.

The fee may be an indication of the effect that coronavirus will have on the summer transfer market. PSG had negotiated a clause to buy Icardi for €70m, but the ongoing financial uncertainty in European football means the price will be significantly lower.

The Inter sporting director, Piero Ausilio, said earlier on Friday: “Icardi wants to stay at PSG and we are in talks to make that happen.”

Icardi joined Inter in 2013 and was the joint top scorer in Serie A in 2015 with Luca Toni on 22 goals but he later fell out with the club’s hierarchy and fans and it was unlikely he would return to the club after joining PSG on loan last year.

At PSG he has scored 12 goals in 20 Ligue 1 games and, significantly, five times in six Champions League matches. The French league winners are through to the last eight of the competition.

Ausilio also said he expected Alexis Sánchez, who is on loan from Manchester United, to stay for the rest of the season and “show what he can do” after been injured for large parts of the campaign.