As everyone knows we’re slowly getting football back and with that comes transfer news and updates. This can be said of 22 year old Inter striker Larturo Martinez. He signed for Inter back in 2018 from Racing Club where he had scored 22 goals in 48 appearances. He might have signed a five year contract for a fee of €22.7 million euros but just a few years later looks likely to leave for a much larger fee. So far at Inter he has done a phenomenal job as one of the clubs top goal scorers this season. So far he has played in 49 matches with 17 goals. He has developed into one of the key pieces Inter desperately needed. As a quick and agile player, he pairs well with the more physical and direct Romelu Lukaku. But unlike Lukaku, Martinez is a player who is able to show up in big matches whereas Lukaku tends to struggle. Martinez is only two years into his contract with Inter and he is already being linked with an exit from the club.
With the upcoming retirement of one of the greatest strikers of this era and in my opinion the greatest of all time Lionel Messi; Barcelona are in need of the next big thing. They are looking at replacing him with Martinez who appeared on their radar in their match against Inter in 2019 in their 2-1 loss in the Champions League when he scored their only goal. So they’ve been interested in him for a few months now. Barcelona are willing to pay his buyout clause of €111 million euros. So far Barcelona have offered €50 million euros and two players for him which has been since rejected by Inter sending Barcelona back to the drawing board to create a new offer. But no matter how much it takes, more than likely they will reach a deal and Martinez will be leaving the club which will be a huge problem for Inter as leaves a crucial opening in the attack. When he leaves this will have Inter scrambling to find a replacement.
Inter have a few options; some I agree with, other I don’t. The first name that’s been thrown around is Antoine Griezmann. This wouldn’t be a bad choice in my opinion as he is a solid goal scorer and a threat inside the box. Olivier Giroud is another name thrown around but he has already signed a contract extension at Chelsea with 49 goals and only seven goals so he is likely now out of the equation unless Interv are willing to pay for him. Moise Kean was another name that was in the pot but he is already close to signing a deal with Roma. At this point Inter have limited options as the names continue to dwindle. The only other player that they can go after and is seeming to be the best solution for now is PSG striker Edison Cavani with midfielder Paul Pogba brought in to supply him with the ammunition. If Inter offload players such as Veccino and Valero, Pogba in the midfield would give them some much needed depth. Whilst Cavani who has played over 200 matches and scored 138 goals for PSG would be seen as a good signing, he is older than the club would prefer (the same can be said about Giroud) so he is a short term solution at short term only. Either way nothing will replace the amazing job Martinez as done for the club. This will definitely be a loss for sure but if they find the right players to fill in the voids Inter should be just fine.
Post by Danielle Luhrsen, writer for The Galleria of Internazionale Milano.
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