Incoming – Strikers Pt. 2
Mauro Icardi – The unbelievably talented Argentine seems to have put a lot of the negative press he was receiving behind him and established himself as Inter’s latest great hope.
During his time at Sampdoria he looked to be going the Mario Balotelli route of his personal life overshadowing his playing career when he had an affair with teammate Maxi Lopez’s wife. The Italian press have since named matches between Icardi and Lopez’s two current teams, Inter and Sampdoria respectively, as the “Wanda Derby”. He has though since married Wanda and adopted Lopez’s children as his own.
On a personal level none of this sits well with me, but I can tell that Icardi is both a very young (23) and very talented player. He is currently captain at Inter Milan so they evidently feel that he has developed enough character to look past his past public relations issues.
It’s also important to note that Inter are also not playing in the Champions League this year and so Icardi should not feel bereft of the European competition like some of the other targets we have on this list.
He also is exactly the kind of second striker that Conte always seems to prefer next to his target man. This is a serious possibility.
Paulo Dybala – Another 5’10’’, 23-year-old Argentinian striker playing in Italy that Chelsea have been linked with is Paulo Dybala. Playing for Juventus as a second striker, Dybala is custom-made for Conte’s system and this deal could happen.
I prefer Dybala to Icardi as he is more of a creator while the latter is a poacher. A Dybala-Costa combo could be something that sets the Premier League on fire if it were to work. One thing that is worth keeping an eye on however is the amount of business Juventus will be willing to do with Chelsea. This would be a wonderful transfer for the Blues but forcing the Italians to give him up as well as some of the other players they are hunting will be a hard bit of negotiating.
Next: Outgoing - Defence