Inter Milan are not worried about losing Mauro Icardi despite growing interest in the Argentina forward, sporting director Piero Ausilio has said.
Icardi, 21, signed a five-year contract when he joined Inter from Sampdoria in 2013 and Ausilio says there is no rush to renew that deal, even if Manchester United are reported to have scouted him during the 3-0 victory over Palermo at the weekend.
Icardi refused to celebrate his two goals in that game, which marked the end of a run of three successive defeats in Serie A. A clash with supporters a week earlier in Reggio Emilia led to him ignoring the home fans at the San Siro, but Ausilio remains convinced the player is happy at Inter.
"Mauro is an instinctive lad and he does things that would be unimaginable for other players," Ausilio said to Mediaset. "He makes things easy which, for others, would be difficult even to contemplate. If he doesn't celebrate, it's nothing to do with his contract renewal."
Preliminary negotiations with the player's agent are underway and, although they are advancing very slowly, Ausilio does not think the player wants to leave.
"The expiry of his contract is not so close for us to worry about it, and his agent doesn't live in Milan so we can't see him every day," he said. "Even if we're only taking small steps, one every month, there's no reason to be worried.
"Mauro's happy at Inter. He chose us, 'marrying' our project, and if you were to ask him today, he would say the very same things I am saying.
"Of course it's normal that a player is not happy to be earning less than he feels he deserves. He's a serious lad, more mature than his actual age. He's a dedicated family man and always gives it his best in training.
"We've met two or three times with his agent and, besides, he signed a five-year contract and nobody knew what he could have become."
Icardi has scored 13 goals in 22 Serie A appearances for the Nerazzurri this season, having netted nine times last term and 10 times in his first season in the Italian top flight with Sampdoria.
He had joined Samp from Barcelona in 2011, having spent three years in the Catalan club's La Masia academy.