As part of his column for Gazzetta dello Sport, journalist Alberto Cerruti took a look at Mauro Icardi’s recent return to action at Inter.

“Icardi is a great scorer with a lot of quality. After everything that happened, it was not easy for him to return but instead he played as if he had never been absent,” he began.

“On the evening of his highly anticipated return he scored a penalty in the 4-0 win against Genoa. Against Frosinone he could have scored on the counter but he decided to lay the ball off to Vecino to score and make it 3-1, showcasing that he could in fact play with his teammates.”

Cerruti also discussed what the future could hold for Icardi.

“At the end of the year, we will know what the future of the striker will be. We need to remember his age too because Icardi is only 26 years old, two less than Zapata and above all seven less than Dzeko, his alleged heirs.

“Though unlikely it is no longer impossible to think that Icardi could stay at Inter, especially if there will be an agreement on his contract, would entail the farewell to Perisic, less decisive than the Argentine and already enquired about by English clubs. With him the other Croatian Brozovic could also leave.”

Ceruti also touched upon the future of Luciano Spalletti on the Inter bench.

“It is easy to say that qualification for the Champions League will guarantee his confirmation on the bench, regardless of his contract until 2021. In reality, a coach, especially if he is not in his first year, must be judged on the results in relation to the means available to them.

“Last summer many considered Inter the only team capable of contending the Scudetto with Juventus, regaining access to the Champions League would be the minimum and not the maximum, also because the Nerazzurri have the same points of a year ago and the same distance from the bianconeri, with the aggravating circumstance of being immediately exited from the Champions and almost immediately from the Europa League.

“The leadership will take this into account, as well as on the economic aspect linked to the possible sacking of Spalletti and the fact that there is a huge difference between him and Icardi. There is no need to wait until the end of the season to know that Spalletti would gladly stay at Inter.”