According to Spanish publication Marca, Barcelona’s hopes of signing Lautaro Martinez before the transfer deadline are now over after the Catalan outfit tabled an unacceptable bid for the Inter Milan star.
Marca report that Barcelona have been preparing a bid for the striker for some time, freeing up funds from the departures of Nelson Semedo, Ivan Rakitic, Arturo Vidal and his predecessor Luis Suarez.
It’s claimed that Barcelona presented a shocking offer of an initial fee of just €15m to Lautaro’s agents, Beto Yaque and Roly Zarate, Barcelona wanted to discuss add-ons at a later stage.
To contextualise just how disrespectful this offer was, Marca reported last week that Inter were sticking firm to their €90m valuation of the 23-year-old.
Marca state that Lautaro’s agents are now returning to Milan with one thing in mind, a new contract. It’s even suggested that the Argentine had expected a move to be sealed after agreeing personal terms.
Marca report that Lautaro’s agents have been left completely baffled by Barcelona’s behaviour, they don’t understand why such a derogatory bid was made after the club enlisted the help of super agent Jorge Mendes to free up funds with the exits of the likes of Semedo.
It’s also reportedly unclear whether Barcelona will actually agree a deal to sign a new striker with Memphis Depay linked, problems continue to brew at the Camp Nou.
We can only imagine what Lionel Messi will feel like if a quality centre-forward isn’t brought in following the decision to disrespectfully force out his close friend in Suarez.
Martinez arrived at Inter in the summer of 2018 from boyhood club Racing, the ace has managed to score 30 goals and provide 8 assists in 84 outings for the Serie A side.
Lautaro’s skillset could be ideal for Barcelona, the forward has shown that he’s potent in front of goal but more importantly a team player as he’s performed superbly alongside Romelu Lukaku.
The Idea to bringing Martinez is highly favored by Messi and Suarez.
So this might be a planned attempt to upset the duo for lashing out at the current Barca board during Suarez’s departure.