He scored on Sunday, and he will probably score again; however, the 21-year-old is far from the top striker the Nerazzurri think he is.
Even though he has garnered interest from some of Europe’s biggest clubs such as Chelsea and Real Madrid, Mauro Icardi is not the striker to lead Inter forward, and the Nerazzurri would be doing more harm than good if they opted to keep him.
Despite boasting of a good goal-scoring record, Icardi has rarely scored in back-to-back encounters. In fact, in the past three seasons the Argentine has scored in back-to-back encounters thrice.
This patchy form is not a characteristic of a striker to lead the Inter front line. The La Masia (Barcelona’s youth academy) graduate has scored 13 goals this season, coming in 22 Serie A appearances — this in turn raises the question as to whether or not he is consistent.
Icardi scored a hat-trick in the 7–0 win against Sassuolo, but then went four games without a goal. Although 15 goals in 28 games in all competitions looks an appealing statistic, the games he has actually impacted are far and few in between. The Nerazzurri forward scored in 11 matches of his 28 appearances. This means that he has had an impact on goal in only 40% of his appearances.
This 40% have also come against lesser teams, like Azerbaijani side Qarabag, Cesena, Hellas Verona, and Udinese et al. Bar Juventus, Icardi has not scored in a ‘big’ game throughout his Inter career since the match against Fiorentina on February 15 2014.
Perfectly showing that point is when the Nerazzurri had a tough run of games against AC Milan, Roma, and Dnipro Dnipropropetrovsk. Icardi scored in the 1–1 draw against Hellas Verona prior to the three games, but was then completely absent in the aforementioned matches.
It can also be argued that Icardi’s form at Sampdoria hadn’t been great either, raising further questions as to whether or not the €14 million Inter paid for him was the right decision.
The Argentine might have ability but the 10 goals he scored in the 2012-13 season only impacted six matches. The 21-year-old scored one against Genoa, Parma, Roma, and Juventus, but netted a staggering four goals against Pescara and another two against the Bianconeri at the Juventus Stadium.
In short, all the above help to show the real Icardi on the field. He does score but against lesser opposition, as well as is evident his complete lack of consistency.
All of the aforementioned could be tolerated if Icardi’s worth ethic were spot-on, but his work ethic and off-field antics are barely justifiable.
His actions towards the Inter fans in the loss to Sassuolo perfectly display his flaws. Easily frustrated, and can turn against his own fans if he feels it necessary. His relationship with the fans is not the only issue, but it was reported that Roberto Mancini is unhappy with the Argentine, and millions of people watched former teammate Pablo Osvaldo argue with him in the game against Juventus, when he opted to take a shot on goal instead of playing it to the former Roma man.
The thing is that Icardi is a polemical figure who has fallen into a self-fabricated siege mentality, where he pitted himself against the world — whether is is the fans, coach or even teammates — and that chip on his shoulder has at times reflected on his performances.
If Inter were to receive a €40 million bid from a top European club as reported, they should not hesitate to sell. After all, the Nerazzurri could be better off without the headache and instead benefit by investing the money into heavily reinforcing the side.
Absolutely agree with the above article regarding the behavior of Icardi. Regarding his amount of goals, let not forget that some came from the penalty spot.
With his money, Inter can do better, and get players that really want to play for the jersey.