Mauro Icardi has been assured his time at Inter Milan is not over - as he continues to be linked with top clubs including Manchester United and Arsenal .
However, Icardi has been warned he will not return to the Inter team until boss Luciano Spalletti says the time is right - and the 26-year-old striker still looks set for a summer move.
Having been overlooked since February and stripped of the captaincy, Inter striker Icardi was again left out as his team lost 1-0 to Lazio on Sunday night.
Inter boss Luciano Spalletti afterwards laid bare his fury with Mauro Icardi, declaring that the striker is currently "humiliating" the club's supporters.
But chief-executive Giuseppe Marotta used a more conciliatory tone when asked about Icardi, suggesting the striker still has a future at the San Siro.
Mauro Icardi blasted for 'humiliating Inter Milan fans' by boss Luciano Spalletti
However, Marotta made it clear that only Spalletti will decide when Icardi returns - and it still appears he will move this summer, putting United, Arsenal, Real Madrid and Juventus on alert.
Marotta told Sky Sports Italia, in quotes reported by Goal : "The reintegration of Icardi is taking place gradually. The coach has the right to choose who he works with and who is selected.
"The club always needs to hold a position of leadership and Spalletti has always worked in this way, thinking about the good of Inter."
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Icardi has scored nine goals in 20 Serie A appearances this season, but the £80m-rated striker has been left out of Inter's last nine games - piquing the interest of Europe's top clubs.
Though Inter deny there is a link, the actions against Icardi come at a time when his contract is being renegotiated.
A number of public statements made by his wife and agent Wanda Nara during the talks are said to have left the Inter hierarchy disappointed after she asked for her husband's value to be respected, according to Goal.
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On Sunday, when it was put to Spalletti by Sky Italia that the result might have been different had Icardi been involved, the Inter boss took umbrage with the suggestion and Mauro Icardi blasted for 'humiliating Inter Milan fans' by boss Luciano Spalletti .
"Today, the only choice for Icardi was to stay out, it is only right that the others should play for how they have behaved," said Spalletti.
"Credibility is needed and at this moment, it is right that others should play because in the locker room credibility is needed.
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"People say we lose many games without Icardi, but the team did not qualify for the Champions League for years when he started. Inter have lost much worse games than this with Icardi.
"It is humiliating for fans to negotiate with a player to get him to wear the shirt they love.
"(There are) few players who make a real difference. (Lionel) Messi is one of these, Icardi is not."
