Napoli have offered €70m for Inter Milan’s Mauro Icardi according to reports that appeared in Italy on Thursday, while raising the wages offered to the player from €6.5m to €6.8m a year until 2021.

Icardi continues to be linked with Arsenal but, as we’ve said since the start of this rumour, we don’t believe that the player will come to England, especially not when there is the chance of a mega-move within Italy.

Napoli are desperate to make a statement after losing Gonzalo Higuain (another South American forever linked but destined never to arrive at Arsenal) and they have identified the Inter captain as the way of doing that.

This whole thing has seemed to be about getting a far better pay packet for Icardi by his wigent, Wanda Nara, who was reportedly not happy with the first offer from Napoli (this new one works out at around £111k per week).

In addition to this offer, Napoli are said to want the player to “concretely demonstrate his determination to leave Milan,” which you might think he has been doing but really it’s all been Nara, with the player saying very little (and what he has said has centred around staying). Inter have stated the have no intention of selling Icardi, so the only way this is likely to happen is if the player forces it.

Just like the Higuain rumours earlier in the season, this one doesn’t actually involve Arsenal who have just been used to push offers in Italy higher. If you are still holding on to some hope that Arsenal will sign Icardi, let it go.

For your own sanity, if nothing else.