Mauro Icardi Would 'Be Happy' to Make PSG Loan Transfer a Permanent Move

Mauro Icardi has said he would "be happy" to extend his stay at Paris Saint-Germain beyond his season-long loan transfer from Inter Milan.

The 26-year-old has enjoyed a prolific first half of the campaign at the Parc des Princes, netting his first PSG hat-trick on Wednesday when they hammered Saint-Etienne 6-1 in the Coupe de la Ligue quarter-finals.

Icardi told reporters after the game: "I feel very good in Paris. I haven’t spoken to the club yet, but there are still four or five months left of the season. When the season is over in May, we will sit down and talk. If I have a chance to stay, I will be happy."

Neymar and Kylian Mbappe were also on target for Thomas Tuchel's side in midweek, but it was Icardi who stole the spotlight as he increased his goal tally to 17 in 19 total PSG appearances:

The Argentina international endured a difficult 2018-19 campaign at Inter amid doubts over his future at the club, but OptaJean demonstrated how he's returned to his effective best in Paris:

According to Fabrizio Romano and Ed Aarons of the Guardian, the French giants must pay Inter €65 million (£55.4 million) if they want to permanently land Icardi, who signed a new deal with the Nerazzurri until 2022 just prior to his loan exit.

Tuchel may strongly consider the deal considering Icardi's hot streak of scoring form, not to mention veteran striker Edinson Cavani—who will turn 33 in February—has a contract that's due to expire in June.

PSG team-mate Marco Verratti spoke to Canal Plus (h/t Football Italia) after Wednesday's game, saying the team weren't expecting "incredible" Icardi to be such an instant success in France.

Inter have hardly suffered in Icardi's absence and sit level on points with Juventus at the top of Serie A having discovered new attacking solutions, per commentator Adam Summerton:

Mbappe, in particular, appears to enjoy his partnership with Icardi, whose strengths in positioning and reading the game have combined with the Frenchman's wicked pace to great effect.

One might argue PSG should focus this summer's investment on areas of the pitch other than the attack, but Cavani's potential departure would leave something of a void.

Icardi has had at least one direct goal involvement in each of PSG's last six Ligue 1 games, and he'll hope to make it seven in a row when the leaders host AS Monaco on Sunday.