Inter Milan chief admits they are open to selling Mauro Icardi amid Arsenal links

Inter Milan are open to the idea of selling Mauro Icardi this summer, according to the Serie A giants. Inter president Erick Thohir said that although the club are reluctant to sanction his sale, they would be willing to strike a deal if they received an eye-watering offer.

Icardi has been linked with Napoli in light of Gonzalo Higuain's recent switch to Juventus, while Inter's captain has asked the club for an improvement to his current contract, even though he only signed a new deal last summer.

Asked if Inter recently turned down a €60m (£50.7m, $67m) offer for the striker, Thohir told Class CNBC: "We are all hoping to receive an even better offer. At this time Mauro is an important player for us, he is our captain. However, players come and go while Inter remains."

Thohir admitted, too, that while he has not always seen eye-to-eye with Inter coach Roberto Mancini, the club and the manager are on the same page regarding Icardi's future.

"Every know and then we disagree on things, but as of right now the relationship between club and coach is great," he said. "It's important that everyone expresses their opinion, but then we all have to work together as a team."

In addition to Napoli, Icardi has been linked with a big-money move to Arsenal, who are also rumoured to be interested in Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette. Olivier Giroud was Arsenal's first-choice striker last season, but following the Gunners' recent 1-1- draw against the MLS All-Stars, boss Arsene Wenger revealed he was keen to add another attacking option.

"At the moment I have not too many attacking options in terms of experienced players. But let's not forget we still have a few players at home," the Arsenal boss said, according to the Daily Mail.
"There are also a few players who did not play (against the MLS All-Stars), like (Santi) Cazorla. And of course (Mesut) Ozil and (Aaron) Ramsey are at home. (Olivier) Giroud is also not here. So we have options but we will still look outside to find one more."