Lautaro Martinez joining up with fellow Argentine Lionel Messi at Barcelona is a question of when and not if. This is the news that currently making the rounds in Argentina with the local media discussing the buzz that another South American will soon become part of the Spanish giants' roster.
Carlos Pablo provided hints that another transfer deal involving an Argentine will be taking place soon in Spain. According to Pablo, who is president of Liniers de Bahia Blanca, Martinez transferring from Serie A to La Liga is the talk of the town.
The 22-year-old striker played with Pablo's club before signing with Inter in 2018 and if the transfer rumors will prove correct, the Argentine team will be getting a share of the fee that the Italian giants will collect from their Spanish counterparts.
"My feeling is that the deal with Barca is practically closed, but I don't think they'll tell us anything yet. Maybe they're waiting for the season to restart," Goal reported the club executive as saying, picking up on his interview with a local Argentine radio station.
Pablo said the Martinez transfer deal will be the biggest for his organization and he estimated that the club stands to realize 20% of capital gains if indeed an agreement has been finalized. Reports said Inter will only release the young attacker for a fee of £96 million.
However, it would seem unlikely that a deal on the Inter ace has been reached between Barca and Inter as the payment demanded by the latter could prove a huge stumbling block.
In the past years, paying up big for a rising star was not a problem for Camp Nou but the suspended season forced upon by the coronavirus pandemic led to the Catalans losing money due to dried up revenues.
While Barcelona will want the deal to push through, efforts are now underway to make it a little easier for the club. According to Forbes, the two sides are locked on a negotiation that hopefully will make the signing of Martinez more affordable for the Spaniards.
It is understood that the Barca side is pushing a proposal that will give Inter access to star players of the Catalans with the following Nelson Semedo, Junior Firpo, Arturo Vidal, Ivan Rakitic, and Samuel Umtiti said to be offered on the table.
But hopes are not high that Barcelona will win Inter's approval on the proposed swap deal as a similar overture by the Spanish giants was previously turned down.
In any case, Barcelona appeared determined to bring over Martinez, whom team captain Messi recently described as both impressive and spectacular as a striker that will help the Catalan side to win titles.
Also, Barca boss Quique Setien confirmed he is interested to work with the Argentine, convinced that his side is getting an important and great player.
