This week saw reports that while Lautaro Martínez and Inter Milan were preparing to face FC Barcelona in the Champions League, Eric Abidal was meeting with Inter brass to check on the availability of the forward. Barcelona were apparently put off by the 100 million euro price tag, but that certainly doesn’t mean this is the last we’ve heard of this; far from it.
To afford a new No. 9 like Martínez, Abidal and Ramon Planes will need to offload players that could fetch some funds like Ivan Rakitic and Arturo Vidal. Rakitic has long been rumored to be moving to Italy in January, and while he now looks more likely to stay until the end of the season after recent starts for the Blaugrana, the Croatian should still raise the club some money in the summer.
Even if Rakitic is shockingly sold in January, the club wouldn’t move for a player of Lautaro Martínez’s caliber; those are the kinds of moves that wait until the summer. Philippe Coutinho may have come in January, but this was after a back-and-forth between Barcelona and Liverpool that had lasted for at least six months before the deal was finally done.
Martínez’s agents are looking to capitalize on the Argentine’s enhanced profile and sparkling Serie A campaign and get him a new deal, improving upon the current one that runs through 2023. The 22-year-old has 13 goals and 3 assists in 21 matches (Serie A and Champions League), and this pace should only continue as his chemistry with strike partner Romelu Lukaku improves.
Arriving from Racing Club in Argentina last season, it took Martínez some time to get accustomed to Europe. This shouldn’t be a slight on young South Americans, particularly attackers. Players mature at different speeds, both on and off the field. For every Gabriel Jesus, there is a Gabigol. Gabigol didn’t work out at Inter, but his loan move back to Flamengo is proving that the 23-year-old may have been given up on too quickly.
Fortunately for Inter Milan, they had faith in Martínez and he is rewarding the current Serie A leaders. The forward is also gaining a larger role with his national team, scoring nine times in 17 matches. This includes a 45-minute hat-trick against Mexico in a friendly in September.
If the forward’s release clause is raised to the reported 200 million euros that Inter Milan directors want, Barcelona and any other club that wants Martínez will be in for a fight. The reality is – a starting forward under 23 who could score 20 goals in a major European league is going to cost a pretty penny.
21-year-old Luka Jovic, who Real Madrid snatched up over the summer from Eintract Frankfurt, has just one goal this season after scoring 27 goals last year between the Bundesliga and the Europa League. The Serbian is already being called a disappointment after he cost Los Blancos more than 68 million euros. He’s obviously just beginning his journey in the Spanish capital and has time to become a force, but he could also meet the same fate as Dani Ceballos. Good isn’t good enough when it comes to the two teams in El Clásico.
Martínez could fail the same way at the Camp Nou, but timing would give him a better shot at success. Luis Suárez has admitted that Barcelona need to be in the market for a new No. 9, and the arrival of Martínez could come at the perfect time for both players. Suárez can ride off into the sunset as a golazo-scoring substitute and Martínez could become Barcelona next great forward.
Between Neymar, Ousmane Dembélé, Philippe Coutinho, and Frenkie de Jong, the club has been embroiled in numerous “transfer sagas” over the last few summers. While Culés are exhausted at the thought of another one, signing one of the game’s top young forwards would be worth it, just as de Jong was. Martínez certainly fits that bill.
