Inter Milan have warned Arsenal and Tottenham that it will require a fee of around 80 million euros to prize forward Lautaro Martinez away from San Siro this summer.
The Argentine forward has struggled somewhat in the absence of Romelu Lukaku, who joined Chelsea in the summer of 2021, but has still registered 14 goals and 2 assists in 28 Serie A appearances this campaign, helping his side to third in Serie A. While it is a drop off from the last campaign, where they ran away with the title, they remain just three points off the top this season.
And, despite seeming interest from Arsenal in Martinez last summer, it seemed as though his future was resolved in October 2021, when he he signed a new deal with Inter keeping him at the club until 2026.
STADIO GIUSEPPE MEAZZA, MILAN, ITALY – 01/29/2020: Lautaro Martinez of FC Internazionale looks on during the Coppa Italia football match between FC Internazionale and ACF Fiorentina. FC Internazionale won 2-1 over ACF Fiorentina. (Photo by Nicolò Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images)
It seems, however, that this was simple precautionary. As per Italian outlet CalcioMercato, Inter’s desire to be self-sustaining means that a suitable offer come in for Martinez, they would be keen to cash in on their forward and reinvest in other areas of the squad.
‘Inter want to open a winning cycle by self-financing, no player of the squad can be considered absolutely irremovable’, the report warns. This, despite the fact that the player has no intention of pushing for a move away from Italy this summer, means that Inter can largely demand whatever they want for their man, and it appears that they have set this price at 80 million euros.
Tottenham in the driving seat?
Were Arsenal and Tottenham to go head-to-head for Martinez, it is likely that there would be only one winner. Despite the potential attractiveness of Mikel Arteta’s project to incoming players, it was under Antonio Conte at Inter Milan that Martinez had his most fruitful season, with 17 goals and 10 assists alongside Lukaku as he helped with the Scudetto.
Moreover, the Argentine generally prefers to operate in a two striker formation, which Tottenham now under Conte use, while Arsenal persist with a sole front man. Should Spurs be able to free up the funds, it all points to the white side of North London stealing a march on their red rivals.
Read more:
Pedri gets the Messi treatment from Barcelona fans after magical winner vs Sevilla
Barcelona chief speaks out over futures of Dembele and Araujo, as well as Rudiger pursuit
Arsenal betting odds, next game:
Crystal Palace vs Arsenal odds: result, both teams to score, correct score & goalscorers
Arsenal’s latest videos
RANKED | Granit Xhaka and Bernd Leno rank each others’ top 5 goals and saves!
Join Granit, Bernd and Frimmy as we sit down for another episode of RANKED!…
2022-03-29T15:35:53Z
2000 Premier League goals | Saka, Bergkamp, Henry, Wright & more!
Watch every single landmark goal for Arsenal in the Premier League era. All the…
2022-03-22T15:56:22Z
Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester City | 30 | 52 | 73 |
| 2 | Liverpool FC | 30 | 57 | 72 |
| 3 | Chelsea FC | 29 | 35 | 59 |
| 4 | Arsenal FC | 28 | 13 | 54 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 29 | 11 | 51 |
| 6 | Manchester United | 30 | 8 | 51 |
| 7 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 31 | 6 | 49 |
| 8 | West Ham United | 30 | 10 | 48 |
| 9 | Leicester City | 28 | -4 | 37 |
| 10 | Aston Villa | 30 | 0 | 36 |
| 11 | Southampton FC | 30 | -9 | 36 |
| 12 | Crystal Palace | 29 | 1 | 34 |
| 13 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 30 | -10 | 34 |
| 14 | Brentford FC | 31 | -11 | 33 |
| 15th | Newcastle United | 29 | -17 | 31 |
| 16 | Leeds United | 31 | -33 | 30 |
| 17 | Everton FC | 27 | -18 | 25 |
| 18 | Watford FC | 30 | -28 | 22 |
| 19 | Burnley FC | 28 | -18 | 21 |
| 20 | Norwich City | 30 | -45 | 18 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 20 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 14 |
| Jota, Diogo | Liverpool FC | 14 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur | 12 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 12 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 12 |
| Tony, Ivan | Brentford FC | 11 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City | 10 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City | 10 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City | 10 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 10 |
| Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United | 9 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 9 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 9 |
| Saka, Bukayo | Arsenal FC | 9 |
| Rafinha | Leeds United | 9 |
| Smith-Rowe, Emile | Arsenal FC | 9 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace | 9 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 8 |
| Antonio, Michael | West Ham United | 8 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neves, Ruben | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | 9 |
| Mings, Tyrone | Aston Villa | 0 | 9 |
| Mctominay, Scott | Manchester United | 0 | 9 |
| Firpo, Junior | Leeds United | 0 | 9 |
| Salisu, Mohammed | Southampton FC | 0 | 8 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 0 | 7 |
| Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 0 | 8 |
| Moreno, Rodrigo | Leeds United | 0 | 8 |
| Cash, Matty | Aston Villa | 0 | 8 |
| McGinn, John | Aston Villa | 0 | 8 |
| Tarkowski, James | Burnley FC | 0 | 8 |
| Shaw, Luke | Manchester United | 0 | 8 |
| Romeu, Oriol | Southampton FC | 0 | 8 |
| Brownhill, Josh | Burnley FC | 0 | 8 |
| Maguire, Harry | Manchester United | 0 | 7 |
| Romero, Christian | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 8 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 8 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 0 | 7 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 1 | 6 |
| Jimenez, Raul | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | 5 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Alexander-Arnold, Trent | Liverpool FC | 11 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 10 |
| Robertson, Andy | Liverpool FC | 10 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 9 |
| Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United | 8 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur | 7 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 7 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 7 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City | 7 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 7 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 6 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 6 |
| Antonio, Michael | West Ham United | 6 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 6 |
| James, Rece | Chelsea FC | 6 |
| Mbeumo, Bryan | Brentford FC | 6 |
| Cancelo, Joao | Manchester City | 6 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 5 |
| Saka, Bukayo | Arsenal FC | 5 |
| Ings, Danny | Aston Villa | 5 |