Mancini: I don´t care about Icardi rumours

Inter boss Roberto Mancini is unconcerned by speculation over the future of captain Mauro Icardi.

The forward’s wife and agent, Wanda Nara, has been vocal in recent days about a possible move away from San Siro.

Nara has claimed that Icardi could be forced to leave if Inter do not offer a suitable improvement to his contract, and has suggested that Arsenal, Tottenham, Napoli, Atletico Madrid and Roma are among the clubs to have enquired over his signature.

Mancini, however, says the 23-year-old’s focus in pre-season training has been clear and denied that the rumours have caused any unrest.

“He’s working hard,” he said. “The rest doesn’t concern me. He’s training, he’s committed, I don’t care what is said on the outside.

“I don’t read the newspapers and I don’t watch TV, what counts is that he could maybe score 20 goals.

“Everyone is working very well, they’re all totally committed. So it’s all okay.”

Inter led the Serie A standings for much of the first half of last season, before inconsistent form since the turn of the year saw them drop out of the top three.

Mancini believes the foundations of his team are strong, but maintains that champions Juventus are favourites to win the Scudetto for the sixth year in a row.

“They’ve strengthened despite losing [Alvaro] Morata, but anything can happen in football. They’re certainly still the favourites,” he said.

“Last year, we were at the top for a long time, the base is there. When you make changes it’s not easy, the new players need time to acclimatise. We’re not missing much to be complete.

“It’s hard to say where we can get at this point.”