Mauro Icardi was the star of Sunday night’s pulsating derby, his hat-trick helping Internazionale – my former club – claim a late 3-2 win against neighbours AC Milan.
He is a top goal scorer with a good record. I would put him in the same bracket as Harry Kane and Robert Lewandowski. If you put Icardi in the Premier League, a team like Liverpool could do very well with him.
When he is in the penalty box, he is clinical. If money was no object and I was back as a sporting director after my previous role with Ligue 1’s Rennes, I would go for Icardi. I think he is underrated and he is playing for Inter, so the price tag shouldn’t be so high.
He is the captain, so he must have the respect of the dressing room – even after the controversial autobiography that was published last year. If he can survive that, he must have everyone’s respect.
When you try to sign a player, you want to find out as much information as possible as what they are like, psychologically, as a person. The entourage is important too, as they have a big influence. When I was at Rennes, we were offered Nicklas Bendtner and I said ‘no’ straight away as I know the guy.
It is important to have a good chemistry in the dressing room. I think Icardi is shining. Sunday was a demonstration of his talent. Not a lot of touches in the game; not being involved too much in the link-up play but three goals.
He isn’t a monster physicality, meaning he doesn’t use his physique to make the difference. He does that with his technique and intelligence. He is still young at 24 and if Inter want to win the Scudetto, they’ll need him to be fit all season.
Milan deserved a draw from the game and this is another difficult result for them and their coach, Vincenzo Montella. The content of the game wasn’t all bad for Milan, but they couldn’t control it until the last minute. The pressure is on and it is growing.
This season after all the investment, there is so much expectation. Champions League qualification is the minimum expected from Montella by the fans and owners. He must stay in contact with the top four, or they’ll make a change. They need to assess what has been done from pre-season until now.
A disheartened Vincenzo Montella after the defeat to Inter
You must know by October if the work is progressing in the right manner. If you believe you are going in the right direction, you continue. There was some sign of encouragement from the derby. Montella is still a young manager.
The results have not been so positive, but with this group of players I think he will get there. He just needs to earn the patience of the owners and fans
Jose Mourinho’s tactics have been a major talking point since Manchester United’s dull goalless draw at Liverpool on Saturday. I was not surprised to see Mourinho not trying to force a goal in the last 15 minutes. You play for the draw and it could have worked if Romelu Lukaku scored and made it a perfect afternoon.
I do not think it is fair from the press to be critical of that type of decision. Because he is in charge and it is his decision – he got the result he wanted. During my time at United, Sir Alex Ferguson didn’t receive this criticism.
But I think it is a shock of the culture. French, Italian and Portuguese coaches, especially, you have to understand that they will sometimes play for the draw. They will defend and then hope to score on the counter, and that was a good call for the game at Anfield, as Liverpool’s defence isn’t recognised as their strength – it was only their third clean sheet in the Premier League this season.
Talk about Mourinho’s future has also appeared in the last 48 hours because of an interview he gave with Telefoot in France, during which the name of Paris Saint-Germain appeared and a dance has started from the media.
The board is asked a question about the manager’s contract situation, but between Mourinho and executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward things are pretty clear. Mourinho has dealt with other presidents across Europe. If he wants to extend his contract, he only needs to pick up the phone.
There is no rush from United’s perspective, all the lights are green at the moment. I don’t think he wants more money, he wants more backing. Right now, he just wants some peace of mind from the club.
Mikael made 361 appearances for Manchester United, winning five Premier League titles and the Champions League. He was also capped 40 times by France.
