Both Chelsea and Manchester City are rumoured to be in the hunt for the same striker, but a lack of Champions League football could see him head to Barcelona despite the deal not being as financially attractive.
According to Sport, the Catalans are confident that Lautaro Martinez will make his mind up as to his next playing destination, if there is one, purely based on sporting decisions.
That being the case, they expect him to either sign for them or stay at Inter Milan.
The newspaper note that the offer from both English teams is better for both Inter and Martinez himself and both ‘could indeed reach full payment of the clause’ which Metro note is €111m, but, importantly, Barca can offer him Champions League football.
Chelsea are currently in fourth place in the Premier League and may be able to sneak into European football’s premier competition at season’s end, though there are no guarantees of the same at this point. Whilst Man City seemed destined to miss out because of the ban put in place by UEFA.
Clearly, Martinez is a player in demand, but it would appear that at this stage his next move won’t be to the Premier League.