Chelsea and Manchester United told they can sign star striker for £60 million - Reports
Chelsea and Manchester United have been reportedly been informed of Inter Milan's asking price for striker Lautaro Martinez. The Argentina international is being tracked by both the Premier League giants, who are eager to sign a No.9 this summer.
According to Football Insider, Inter are prepared to listen to offers in the region of £60 million. Martinez is said to be keen on moving to the Premier League and is prepared to listen to offers.
The report adds that he is more inclined towards a move to Chelsea than Manchester United, which makes Mauricio Pochettino and Co. the favorites to his signing.
The Blues struggled in front of the goal during the recently concluded season, and have made a striker signing one of their priorities. Kai Havertz finished as their top scorer, with nine goals in 47 games.
Manchester United, on the other hand, have yet to replace Cristiano Ronaldo, who left the club by mutual consent in November last year. They signed Wout Weghorst on a six-month loan deal from Burnley but are not expected to make his deal permanent.
Anthony Martial has been injury prone, with Marcus Rashford shouldering the goal-scoring burden for them during the 2022/23 season. They have also been linked with Harry Kane and Victor Osimhen but no concrete reports have emerged so far.
Martinez, meanwhile, still has four years remaining on his contract with Inter. But the club are ready to offload him to raise funds for summer incomings. They reportedly have an interest in three Chelsea players, Romelu Lukaku, Kalidou Koulibaly and Trevoh Chalobah.
Inter vice-president hints that Lautaro Martinez will stay put at Inter
Just last month, Inter Milan vice president Javier Zanetti claimed that Inter were happy with Lautaro Martinez, hinting that he will continue with them in the future.
“I’m very happy for Lautaro, who grows with us every year. He’s a reference for the team. He is so important for us,” said Zanetti after Inter's Champions League semi-final win over rivals AC Milan in May 2023 (via Evening Standard).
Martinez scored 28 and assisted 11 goals for Inter in the recently concluded season. He helped the club reach the Champions League final, where they lost 1-0 to Manchester City.