Lautaro Martínez Tells Antonio Conte of Desire to Join Barcelona This Summer
By Tom Gott
Barcelona had been hoping that Inter forward Lautaro Martínez would actively push for a transfer this summer, and a report in Italy has claimed he has done exactly that.
The Argentine is Barcelona's top target, but as a result of the financial impact of the coronavirus outbreak, a move has been made a little more complicated. Meeting his €111m release clause is impossible, so Barcelona are pushing to find an agreement for a player-plus-cash deal.
Up until now, the ball has been in Inter's court. Martínez is under contract until 2023 and Inter have no financial need to sell, but La Gazzetta dello Sport note that Barcelona's chances of striking a deal have been handed a huge boost as the 22-year-old has officially spoken to the club about his desire to leave.
Inter have always known that was the case anyway, but for Martínez to specifically meet manager Antonio Conte to discuss an exit has encouraged the Serie A side to find an agreement as soon as possible.
Martínez has agreed not to speak about his future anymore and instead focus on ending the season in style. Inter are in the race for the league title and Coppa Italia and they are also pushing for Europa League glory, and Conte knows that Martínez needs to be at his best if they are to achieve their goals.
? | LAUTARO
— Inter (@Inter_en) May 2, 2020
El Toro has loved an early goal this season, but can anyone tell us which one was his fastest and exactly how long it took him? ?⚽⏱#FORZAINTER ⚫? pic.twitter.com/2GMvi6Tl7e
The whole squad are aware of Martínez's situation and are now said to waiting for a deal to be finalised. Negotiations are going well, but this revelation will only help things move forward.
Sport add that Barcelona's idea is to pay €60m in cash and then give Inter a choice of a few players to add into the deal. Left-back Junior Firpo is seen as a likely option, but Nélson Semedo's name has also been thrown around.
Barça hope to have everything wrapped up by the end of June so they can officially confirm the deal on 1 July, and Inter are just as eager to get things done quickly. Now that they know Martínez wants to go, they want to raise money to pursue his replacement.
It seems like everyone involved wants the same resolution, and it's now just a case of figuring out which players to include in Barça's payment. The media in Spain don't expect there to be any issues with this one.