Inter Milan had blocked Lautaro Martinez’s late move to Premier League by rejecting offers from Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur.
According to Gazzetta Dello Sport, Inter Milan were approached by multiple English clubs for the services of Lautaro Martinez. The list of suitors included Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Atletico Madrid, with two of them even submitting an offer of around €90 million while Arsenal offered a little less.
However, all of them were rejected by Inter Milan who were determined to keep hold of their prized asset, especially after sanctioning the summer sale of star player Romelu Lukaku to Chelsea. Another star in Achraf Hakimi had also left the club in the summer, in favour of a switch to Paris Saint-Germain.
The decision made by Inter, therefore, was hardly surprising as they already had to deal with a significant weakening of their offensive unit. Struggling with finances, the Nerazzurri even had to settle for the ageing Edin Dzeko as the replacement for the departed Lukaku.
Whether or not the club’s determination in keeping hold of Martinez pays off remains to be seen, but it is apparent that interested parties like Tottenham and Arsenal are set to come back in the market for the Argentine, in the January transfer window. Tottenham, for one, are already targeting a move for another Serie A star in Dusan Vlahovic in Fiorentina.
With Harry Kane facing an uncertain future at the club, Tottenham are in the market for a new forward. The same can be said for Arsenal, who have had difficulties with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, who is likely to be offloaded in January as Mikel Arteta vouches for an upgrade.
The Gunners have not been actively linked with a proper centre forward after the end of the summer transfer window. But the addition of Martinez could certainly make a lot of sense for Arsenal given the Argentine international’s success at Inter.
Indeed, the 24-year-old attacker has registered 51 goals and 20 assists in just 134 competitive appearances for the Serie A giants, notably winning the Scudetto last season. He can thus be an excellent replacement for either Aubameyang or Kane, should he make the jump to the Premier League.
However, Inter Milan certainly won’t make it easy for Arsenal or Tottenham and are likely to demand a higher fee Martinez, who has already scored two goals in two matches in the new season. He is expected to be involved in the action when Inter Milan face Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League tonight.
