Barcelona could reportedly consider putting Ousmane Dembele in a swap deal offer to Inter in their bid to prise Lautaro Martinez to the Nou Camp.
The 22-year-old Argentine has had a stellar season with the Nerazzurri so far this year, scoring 16 goals and providing four assists in 31 outings.
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His form has helped Antonio Conte’s side compete for the Serie A title, while he also has nine goals in 17 caps for Argentina to suggest that he has a bright future ahead of him for club and country.
Speculation is rife over his future though, and Calciomercato report, via the paper edition of Corriere dello Sport, that Barcelona could include Dembele in a swap deal offer to try and convince Inter to green light an exit for Martinez.
However, it is noted that the Frenchman’s salary could be a stumbling block for Inter, and so it remains to be seen if that is something that can be overcome in order for the possibility of the deal to remain alive.
Earlier this week, Marca reported that Dembele has a €60m valuation from Barcelona as it’s suggested that they could be willing to discuss an exit this summer as injuries and a lack of reliability continue to ruin his spell with the reigning La Liga champions.
The 22-year-old has bagged 19 goals and 17 assists in 74 games for the Catalan giants, but he has also missed 80 games due to injury since September 2017.
In turn, if they could include him and bring Martinez’s price-tag down, that would arguably be a smart move, with FourFourTwo noting that the Argentine’s release clause currently stands at €111m.
That said, the reasons outlined above could be exactly why Inter don’t go for a swap deal involving Dembele, and so Barca may well have to consider alternative options if he can’t prove his fitness and form when the season resumes.