Napoli President Confirms Mauro Icardi Approach, Dismisses Lorenzo Insigne Swap

Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis has said the club has asked about the availability of Inter Milan striker Mauro Icardi, although he has dismissed any suggestion they would be willing to swap Lorenzo Insigne to land the player. 

Icardi's future at Inter has been a hot topic this summer, with the player linked with a move away from the San Siro ahead of the 2019-20 season. Napoli are one of the clubs to have been tipped as possible suitors.

Speaking to Corriere dello Sport (h/t Football Italia), De Laurentiis said there was interest in the player in the past, although they wouldn't be willing to give up Insigne to get a transfer done:

"Ancelotti said he wouldn't exchange Icardi with Lorenzo Insigne and he's right. Icardi may well always want to join Juventus, but I prefer Lorenzo to him too, because he's the one we need, while we already have Arkadiusz Milik and Dries Mertens upfront.

"I won't deny we asked after Icardi. I won't deny he has talent: Icardi is an excellent player, but so much has been said about him, he now seems older than his 26 years. Seen from afar, he gives off the impression that he hasn't been dealt with properly, was wasted and didn't understand the importance of the role he has. But our admiration for him as a player is undoubted."

Last season was challenging for Icardi, as he was stripped of the Inter captaincy and then left out of the side for a significant spell in 2019, with Inter unable to agree a new contract with the Argentina forward.

Eurosport's Siavoush Fallahi recently made reference to Icardi's absence earlier in the year:

The result was a season of underperformance on the field for the striker. Per WhoScored.com, last season Milik outperformed Icardi:

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport (h/t Amalia Fra of AS), new Inter coach Antonio Conte has already made it clear to Icardi that he won't be part of his plans for the upcoming campaign.

While Juventus have been linked with the Inter striker, they already have Cristiano Ronaldo, Paulo Dybala, Mario Mandzukic, Gonzalo Higuain and Moise Kean to call upon in attack. With that in mind, it's tough to see them spending big money on another centre-forward before shifting a few strikers out the door.

Inter are seemingly preparing to bolster their forward line, though. According to journalist Fabrizio Romano, they are stepping up their interest in Manchester United's Romelu Lukaku:

Napoli will be keen to put more pressure on Juventus in the upcoming season, and it's not a surprise to see them linked with high-class players as a result.

Icardi has long been one of the most reliable goalscorers in Italian football, and if he were to move to Napoli and perform to his best, he would provide an edge in the final third. However, based on De Laurentiis' comments, the transfer looks unlikely to come off.