Inter Milan's sporting director Piero Ausilio has confirmed that there has been contact with Napoli over Mauro Icardi, while insisting the forward is going nowhere.
Napoli have made their move for the Argentinian as a potential replacement for Gonzalo Higuain, should his mooted move to Juventus go through. However, Ausilio says the Azzurri would be wasting their time because his club have no intention of even entering into negotiations over the sale of their captain.
"Of course there has been meetings with Napoli, but we're not giving him to Napoli," Ausilio said at Milan's Malpensa airport ahead of his trip to link up with the club on their tour of the USA, reports La Gazzetta dello Sport. "There are no negotiations. Inter are keeping hold of Icardi, like we are keeping hold of other players.
"Our intention is to strengthen the squad and the club gets stronger by keeping its top players. I don't care what Napoli might be able to offer, Icardi doesn't have a release clause and Inter don't want to sell him, it's as simple as that."
Icardi, 23, was made captain of the Nerazzurri a year ago, underlining his importance to the Serie A club.
His wife and agent Wanda Nara has recently asked for Inter to show how much they value him by improving the terms of his contract, which expires in 2019, but Ausilio says this is not an issue that concerns him or the player.
"He's working hard and he's been with us for years, and he became captain of this important team with a glorious past," Ausilio said. "We've always had his interests at heart and we always renewed his contract at the right time, and now is not the right time to renew it again.
"Today we have other priorities, on the field. Further down the line, when there is no longer all this media attention, we will talk about it."
Inter vice president Javier Zanetti told Argentina newspaper La Nacion that
"He is very young and has great potential and still has to grow a lot," Zanetti said. "He needs to focus on playing and nothing more. Our intention is that he remain with us, beyond all that has been said over these past days. Last year we adjusted his contract and he is our captain. We want him to stay, but he needs to understand that he plays for Inter."