The Inter striker was again left out despite having reached an agreement to return to training after being overlooked since February <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Mauro Icardi’s return to the Inter first team remains an ongoing process according to chief-executive Giuseppe Marotta after the Argentine was again left out of the squad to face Lazio.<\/p>\n
Having not played since early February, amid talks over a new contract, the 26-year-old returned to first team training with the San Siro club during the international break.<\/p>\n
The news followed suggestions from the Inter hierarchy that talks had taken place which would lead to Icardi once again being considered for selection.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Icardi was stripped of the captaincy at the start of last month and has not been involved in any of\u00a0I Nerazzurri’s last nine matches in all competitions.<\/p>\n
Wife and agent Wanda Nara has revealed a resolution between both parties had been reached and he was therefore expected to be included in Luciano Spalletti’s matchday squad for the visit of Lazio on Sunday.<\/p>\n
But after he was once again overlooked, Marotta has clarified the situation and says Spalletti will dictate when Icardi is recalled.<\/p>\n
“The reintegration of\u00a0Icardi\u00a0is taking place gradually,” he told Sky Sport Italia. “The coach has the right to choose who he works with and who is selected.<\/p>\n
“The club always needs to hold a position of leadership and Spalletti has always worked in\u00a0this way, thinking about the good of Inter.”<\/p>\n
Though Inter deny there is a link between the two events, the actions against Icardi come at a time when his contract is being renegotiated.<\/p>\n
But a number of public\u00a0statements made by Nara during the talks are said to have left the Inter hierarchy\u00a0disappointed after she asked for her husband’s value to be respected.<\/p>\n
Though he is braced to return to the Inter team at some stage before the end of the season, his future beyond the summer is likely to be elsewhere.<\/p>\n
Serie A champions Juventus, 13-time Champions League winners Real Madrid and Premier League giants Chelsea – despite their looming transfer ban – are among the clubs reported to be keen on taking advantage of the situation.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The furore over Icardi’s future has come amid Inter’s fight for a Champions League place. They suffered a blow to those ambitions when they were knocked out of the Europa League by Eintracht Frankfurt, and vice-president Javier Zanetti wants the focus to return to matters on the field.<\/p>\n
“I think we have talked about him too much,”he\u00a0said of his fellow-countryman.<\/p>\n
“Now we must focus on the field because it is fundamental for the season finale.”<\/p>\n<\/p>\n