Icardi and Nagatomo reject Manchester United

Both Yuto Nagatomo and Mauro Icardi gave interviews recently in which they confirmed their respective desires to stay at Inter. They each talked about how much they believe in the current project and Mancini as their coach. They believe that Champions League qualification is still possible and want to fight as hard as they can in order to reach that goal. Interestingly enough, they also talked about interest shown in them by the same club, Manchester United.

Nagatomo said that in January the English club approached him in January but he turned down their offer. The 29 year old not only rejected their advances but told Inter that he would like to stay at the club longer and would renew his contract if it is offered. He was also asked about which teammates at Inter he had the most fun with and his answers were Wesley Sneijder, Marco Materazzi, Javier Zanetti and Antonio Cassano. During his time at the club the fullback has amassed 165 appearances in all competitions scoring 11 and creating 18 assists. He is clearly looking forward to increasing those numbers in the years to come.

Icardi talked about how much Mancini has transformed him as a striker since the tactician's arrival at the club, making him less of a poacher and more of a striker who gets involved with the team's play. He also revealed that Mancini expects the 22 year old to score 15-20 goals each season. He then spoke on the reported interest from Manchester United and said that even if Mourinho were to arrive at the club, he would still want to stay at Inter. He said he is happy in Milan and wants to help the club's project become successful.

I know some people really don't like Nagatomo but at the same time it's nice to see club loyalty nowadays. A player that really loves the club and really wants to be there is one that is more likely to give everything they have on the pitch, which is the kind of effort we will need to win this battle for 3rd place.