He´s a good person – Spalletti believes Icardi wants to stay

Luciano Spalletti sees no reason to doubt Mauro Icardi after the striker reaffirmed his commitment to Inter.

Amid recent reports in the Italian media that he is angling for a move away from San Siro, Icardi took to social media on Friday to stress he is not interested in a transfer.

“I want to inform our fans that I have repeatedly informed the club of my intention to stay at Inter,” he posted on his Instagram account.

“Thus, from now on, no misunderstandings of any kind will be created. I understand the interests of the press to sell fake news but I can’t do anything more than to clarify things personally.”

READY, STEADY, GO! #ForzaInter pic.twitter.com/4G6PzQxNmu

— Inter (@Inter_en) May 16, 2019

The Argentina international has endured a difficult campaign at Inter – his sixth with the club since joining from Sampdoria – having been stripped of the captaincy in February and missed a couple of months with a knee injury.

But Spalletti is confident Icardi, who returned to action in April, is fully committed to the club and will consider selecting the 26-year-old against Napoli on Sunday.

“I always value the things that are said. I think he’s a good person and a great player,” he said at Saturday’s news conference. “If he expressed himself this way with two matches to go, then it must be considered [as being correct].

“Icardi is training in the right way and is available. Everything is okay.”

Third-place Inter require only three more points from their final two matches, away to Napoli and home to Empoli on the final day, to secure a Champions League spot for the second consecutive year.

And Spalletti, who will reportedly be replaced in the San Siro dugout by Antonio Conte at the end of the campaign, insists the future is bright for his side.

#Spalletti: “We have to get back on the bus that’s heading to the Champions League. The millions of #InterFans deserve it, they’ve shown great attachment to the colours over the past years.” #NapoliInter pic.twitter.com/N6cZTdIP6Z

— Inter (@Inter_en) May 18, 2019

“We have grown a lot since last season,” he said. “We have worked well, we have seen positive results. We have done well in the present to set up an even better future.

“We must first play and win, then we talk about third place. It is a speech that is made later, it does not move us an inch now, we must remain attentive and focused. We focus on the current objective, which is the match against Napoli.

“We want to bring the maximum points home. We have trained well and what we saw in the last few games, even if we didn’t win much, was the right attitude. We will try to repeat that, we want to win.

“We have to get back on the bus that’s heading to the Champions League. The millions of Inter fans deserve it – they’ve shown great attachment to the colours over the past few years.”