Why Man City should exploit Lautaro Martinez situation at Inter Milan
According to The Sun, Man City boss Pep Guardiola is keeping close tabs on Lautaro Martinez amid the Argentine international’s contract dispute at Inter Milan.
Martinez, 23, has a £98million release clause written into his existing contract at the San Siro that runs until 2023 but Inter are keen to tie him down to a longer deal to fend off interest from City, Real Madrid and Barcelona.
The Nerazzurri are willing to double the striker’s £38,000-a-week wages but he wants to earn around £150,000-a-week if he is to put pen to paper on fresh terms with the Serie A giants. Inter are clearly unwilling to offer him such terms in the current climate, thus putting Man City on red alert. (h/t The Sun)
Profile
A youth exponent of Racing Club in Argentina, Lautaro Martinez started his professional career with his boyhood club in Argentina in 2015. His talent and potential led to him being regarded as one of the hottest rising talents in South America, with Martinez scoring 27 goals in 60 appearances across all competitions.
The 23-year-old earned a move to Europe with Inter Milan in the summer of 2018 and went on to enjoy a promising breakthrough campaign at the San Siro, scoring 9 times in 35 appearances.
Martinez established himself as a regular starter at Inter last term, forming a deadly strike partnership with Romelu Lukaku. He bagged a career-best tally of 21 goals in 49 appearances as the Nerazzurri finished runners-up in the Serie A and also in the Europa League. The sharpshooter has carried on from where he signed off in the previous campaign, scoring 6 times in 13 games so far.
A full international for Argentina since 2018, Martinez has scored 11 goals in 21 appearances for La Albiceleste so far, representing his nation at the 2019 Copa America.
Martinez would be the long-term successor to Aguero at Man City
Man City roped in Ferran Torres from Valencia in the summer to bolster their attack and the Spaniard has proven himself to be a smart addition to the club’s ranks.
Guardiola has utilised the youngster in several positions across the final third, including as a centre-forward on a few occasions. Torres, though, isn’t an out-and-out striker by any means and is undoubtedly at his best when deployed in a wide attacking role.
Sergio Aguero’s struggles with recurrent knee injuries have limited him to just two starts in the Premier League so far. The 32-year-old has arguably been the key driving force behind the Cityzens’ raging success in English football over the past decade and it’s hardly a surprise that they have lacked the same goalscoring firepower in without him in the mix.
Gabriel Jesus has been entrusted with the responsibility of filling Aguero’s void as the designated understudy in the squad. He looks more than ready to take over the reins from the veteran moving forward but City ideally need to bring in another striker to ensure healthy competition for places in the coming seasons, with Aguero out of contract next summer.
To put things into perspective, Man City would bag a real coup if they manage to lure Lautaro Martinez to the Etihad next summer. The 23-year-old looks very much a striker in a mould similar to Aguero, having already proven his credentials at Inter Milan in the Serie A.
His impressive numbers in the Champions League further underlines his burgeoning reputation as one of the best young strikers in Europe.
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Verdict
Man City surely need to start looking at a long-term successor to Aguero’s throne at the Etihad even if the veteran stays put for another season. Lautaro Martinez has already usurped Aguero as the first-choice striker in Argentina’s international set-up, and he could do the same at City if a move does materialise in the coming windows.
The 23-year-old is only going to get better with time and while he certainly won’t come cheap in the market, City can rest assured that Martinez has all the qualities to blossom into the new spearhead of their attack for the good part of the decade.
