Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez is in the spotlight these days. Giant European clubs are in hot pursuit of the young Argentine, whose parent team's asking price is supposedly no lower than £100 million. It is said the race to sign Martinez is now down to teams - Barcelona and Chelsea, and both are willing to spend big.
The side of Frank Lampard is tipped to reach down the pocket and pay for the Martinez asking price. In terms of cash available, the English club seems very much able as there were no significant signing for the team in the past transfer windows, partly due to the ban imposed on Chelsea.
Lampard is said to be willing to pay the price demanded by Inter and is looking to seal deal the soonest. As The Sun said, Chelsea is not only racing against Barca and other interested clubs. The release clause that will allow Martinez to move out is valid only from the start of July until the 15th of the month.
It is believed that Martinez has shortlisted Chelsea, partly because his manager Antonio Conte is Lampard's predecessor. And Martinez has already rejected the other offers coming from Real Madrid, Manchester City, and Manchester United.
As things stand now, Chelsea has the advantage as the club has the ready cash to pay while Barcelona can only offer exchange deals. To pay for Inter's cash demand, the Spanish giants are offering Arturo Vidal, but it remains unknown if the package is acceptable to the Italian side.
What is clear, however, is that Barca has a crucial advantage. The team has Lionel Messi, a teammate of Martinez in Argentina. It is believed the two have been plotting to play together, and Barcelona is working hard to make it happen in the coming season.
"It is believed that Martinez has his heart set on a move to the Camp Nou. There is a belief that Martinez wishes to play alongside his compatriot and Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi," FourFourTwo reported.
The report Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu is working on a plan to bring Martinez over and then recruit back Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain. By the end of summer this year, both Neymar and Martinez will be wearing Red and Blue, which is a scenario that Messi has been talking about.
The Spanish giants are also making preparations for the approaching retirement of Luis Suarez, who will be turning 34 soon. The 22-year-old Argentine is seen as the perfect replacement as his spell in Italy so far resulted in 66 appearances and 25 goals, 16 of which have been recorded in the ongoing season.
