'Icardi to Juventus? No chance' - Inter chairman Zhang

Inter chairman Steven Zhang has dismissed the possibility of unsettled star striker Mauro Icardi moving to Serie A rivals Juventus.

The Argentine was recently stripped of the Nerazzurri captaincy, with the armband being handed to goalkeeper Samir Handanovic, and was subsequently dropped from Inter's squad to face Rapid Vienna in the Europa League.

This action came following the 25-year-old's wife and agent, Wanda Nara, suggesting that Icardi deserved a much higher wage and that several top clubs had expressed an interest in him, although she had previously insisted that her husband would sign a new deal with the club.

Juventus' sporting director, Fabio Paratici, has admitted that the Bianconeri made contact over the forward last summer, but that no approach has been made since. He did suggest, however, that the club would revisit the idea of signing Icardi at the end of the season.

Inter chairman Zhang, however, has rejected the idea of selling to their league rivals.

"In football never say never to business with Juventus. But in this specific case, there is no possibility that Icardi will go to Juventus," Zhang said at the club's shareholders' meeting.

"We talked a lot last week, we want to say enough about this story. With Icardi we are negotiating for the renewal. 

"But our philosophy is that the group is always superior to the individual. The next summer market will be better than last season."

Losing Icardi would be a blow for Inter, as the striker has hit 15 goals in 28 appearances in all competitions this season, and has 122 goals for the club in his 210 games so far.

The Nerazzurri currently sit third in Serie A and look good value to progress to the last 16 of the Europa League after their 1-0 win in Austria. 

They host Rapid Vienna at the San Siro in the second leg on Thursday.