It is well-known that Lautaro Martinez is a priority signing by Barcelona, but the Inter Milan striker has yet to reach a formal deal with the Spanish giants. While the Argentine is said to be keen on playing for Camp Nou, the Catalans are having a hard time raising the 22-year-old's asking price of £98 million, thus dragging the transfer talks.
The delay has reportedly opened the door for rival clubs to inquire about the likelihood of signing Martinez instead. Said to have expressed interest in the rising Inter star are Real Madrid and Manchester United with the Premier League club to be hunting for a young goalscorer.
According to Marca, the Catalans have offered alternatives for Inter to release Martinez but the Italian giants are proving to be inflexible. The La Liga side has offered a swap deal that will allow the Serie A side to choose players from the Barcelona roster, but the proposal seemed not tempting enough for Inter.
The Italians have maintained that the only thing that will get the deal moving is for Barcelona to pay cash, and no adjustments will be made.
Per the same report, the Barca board is weighing in on another round of pay cut for the team's players but is unlikely to be approved. The roster has already agreed on a 70% salary reduction due to the COVID-19 crisis, and further wage downgrades could lead to internal unrest. So it would seem that the Catalans are running out of options.
With the delay in Barcelona securing Martinez's signature, it's not far off that other clubs will try to step in as the young striker is proving to be a sensation in the season so far. The Inter ace has been on 31 games so far with the Italians and already scored 16 goals, thus catching the attention of top clubs in Europe.
The side of Zinedine Zidane could indeed pursue a talent like Martinez as the team has been frustrated by transfer talks on Kylian Mbappe and Paul Pogba. So it would not be surprising if Bernabeu will monitor the situation and make a move at an opportune time.
As for the Red Devils, club boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been looking to upgrade his frontline, and the Argentine forward will surely fit his requirements. The club has reportedly made formal inquiries by meeting with representatives of Martinez a few weeks back.
However, Metro said Solskjaer appeared more focused on his other transfer targets for the summer, identified as Jadon Sancho, Jack Grealish, and possibly Harry Kane.
The Norwegian has just signed on Odion Ighalo for an extension until January 2021 and is now opening talks for a potential deal with Donny van de Beek from Ajax. So it can be assumed that joining the race to sign Martinez is not a priority by Solskjaer, added the report.
