Lautaro Martinez very close to strengthening Barcelona
It has been one of the soap operas of the past two months and it seems that the Argentine striker from Inter Milan is getting closer to Barcelona at a stage when the two clubs seem very close to reaching an agreement.
60 MILLION + 2 PLAYERS
According to the international press, the leaders of Inter have been particularly intransigent in this business, not giving up the idea of paying the termination clause of the young Argentine striker, which stands at 111 million euros.
With a contract until 2023, Inter know they don’t have to rush to sell the player and can use that data to force Barcelona to open the strings to the stock market in a very profitable transfer to the Italian team that spent 25 million euros on their acquisition from Racing Avellaneda just two years ago.
But Barcelona does not seem to be willing to go beyond the 60 million euros for the player, a situation that may now have a solution in sight by including two other players in the deal. In Italy, rumors indicate that Barça will have already communicated which names are on the table for potential currencies with Nélson Semedo to be one of the names to appear on that list.
In addition to the Portuguese, Barça also places players with little space in the club such as Junior Firpo, Jean-Claire Todibo and Samuel Umtiti, all of them defensive players who could strengthen the back zone of Inter, and also Arturo Vidal or Ivan Rakitic can be included in the deal.
LUIS SUÁREZ VERSION 2.0?
Barcelona’s interest in this promising Argentine striker will certainly aim to start a process of remodeling a squad that is no longer new, and in fact, Lautaro Martínez seems to have a style of play very close to that of Luís Suárez, owner of the place of No. 9 in Catalans for several seasons.
In addition, Lautaro has already played alongside Lionel Messi in the Argentine national team and probably will have pleased the great star of his country and also Barcelona, because otherwise he would not be being so well equipped to reinforce the club. In the current season, Lautaro continues with 16 goals and 4 assists in 30 games with the Inter jersey in a year that has clearly been a statement for the 22-year-old.
But also in the Argentine team, their numbers are not deceiving as to their quality and potential to become a reference striker in world football: there are already nine goals in just 17 matches in an average that clearly surpasses Lionel Messi, for example. His speed and agility combined with a combative style of play and a great sense of opportunity remind us of Luís Suárez and the Argentine can really be a good substitute for the Uruguayan for some time until, who knows, he can overcome him in the Catalan hierarchy.
TIMO WERNER MAY BE ELECTED TO ARRIVE IN ITALY
According to the Italian press, and if Lautaro Martínez’s deal for Barcelona is confirmed, then Inter Milan will be able to advance through German striker Timo Werner currently playing for RB Leipzig. Without being able to consider such a tough or aggressive player on the pitch, the truth is that Werner is also a very fast player who can roam the finishing zones with great ease, scoring goals with great regularity.
This season, the 24-year-old striker has an impressive 27 goals and 12 assists in 36 matches, thus contributing directly to 1.08 goals per match. His effectiveness in front of goal has really been remarkable in the most recent seasons and his record of 11 goals in 29 international appearances for Germany also shows that his finishing qualities have already put him as a reference name in the attack of ‘Die Mannschaft’ .
RB Leipzg only paid 14 million euros to Stuttgart in 2016 and is now preparing to fit more than 60 million euros for the player in yet another mastery of the German team.
LIVERPOOL ALSO EYE
Despite the potential interest of Inter Milan, at this moment it seems Liverpool are the best placed to guarantee the services of the German striker in order to reinforce an attack that is already overwhelming.
Jurgen Klopp continues to look for players that will allow him to do a more peaceful resource management during a season and certainly that Timo Werner could work as an excellent complement to the Reds’ marvel trio, adding unpredictability and lethality in the finishing zones.
The English team is also eyeing Willian who ends his contract with Chelsea at the end of the season, and if he guarantees two dynamos of speed and unpredictability to complement his attack, it could become even more devastating next season…
