Manchester United keen to pre-empt Barcelona to Lautaro Martinez
According to Spanish publication Marca (h/t Metro), Manchester United are keen to trump Barcelona to the signing of Lautaro Martinez.
The Argentine star has been in excellent form this season. He has scored 16 goals and provided 4 assists from 31 appearances for the Nerazzurri so far. (h/t Transfermarkt)
The 22-year-old has linked up well with Romelu Lukaku. The duo has flourished and has not let the absence of Mauro Icardi become a detrimental factor.
Barcelona have already held talks to bring the player to the Camp Nou. According to the report, the striker has agreed on a deal in principle to make the move to La Liga.
However, following the coronavirus pandemic, Barcelona’s finances have been hard hit. This has thrown their plans for the Argentine into disarray.
With Inter unwilling to negotiate on the player’s release clause of £98.9m, the Catalans risk upsetting their squad with the outlay. This becomes even more apparent considering the club’s stars have had to cope with pay cuts in the last few months.
The Catalans could raise money by selling Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele. However, the club are yet to find suitors for either of them.
This has given enough reason for Manchester United amongst other clubs to register their interest. Although United recently extended the loan of Odion Ighalo, the chance to sign Martinez will be tempting.
The Nigerian is at best an excellent short gap, but Martinez affords us the opportunity to bring in a potential world-class forward. Whether the club will take advantage of Barcelona’s indecisiveness remains to be seen.
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Signing Martinez under Barcelona’s noses would be a coup for us. He would immeasurably strengthen our frontline going into next season.
However, with the likes of Jadon Sancho and Jack Grealish expected to cost a bomb, United could find it hard to meet Inter’s valuation.
