According to reports from Spanish news outlet El Desmarque, Inter Milan will offer Barcelona a chance to sign Mauro Icardi so that they don’t further pursue the signing of Lautaro Martinez. Martinez has been heavily linked with the Blaugrana in the past few weeks, and the Argentine is being seen as a replacement for Luis Suarez.
How do things stand at the moment?
Milan clearly rates Martinez more at the moment as he is still 22 and has shown promising signs. Icardi is currently on loan with French heavyweights PSG. The Argentine striker has been firing on all cylinders for PSG as he already has ten goals and one assist in 11 games in all competitions this season.
Inter Milan are reportedly not interested in letting Martinez leave. PSG are said to have an option to buy Icardi for €70m after his loan spell. Milan could offer Barcelona a chance to sign Icardi for €65m so that they stay off from Martinez.
The report further goes on to add that Barcelona are not keen on Inter’s proposal and they would instead pursue Martinez over Icardi. It remains to be seen now what would transpire in the future.
Should Barcelona go for Icardi?
The Argentine striker has been one of the most lethal strikers in world football in the last few years. Icardi had managed 124 goals and 28 assists in 219 appearances for Inter Milan. His shooting and attacking instincts in the final third are second to none, and he can score all kinds of goals for his side. Icardi can be a goal poacher, and he also has that moment of magic in him to score from anywhere in and around the box. The Argentine’s intelligent runs and ability to stretch play makes it hard for defenders to keep hold of him.
However, he has been a disruptive element for Inter Milan as the club blamed him for faking injuries to avoid playing at one point. The striker has also often gotten into a tiff during contract negotiations, and he has been stripped of the captaincy as well in the past. His involvement with a certain team-mate’s wife has also not helped his reputation off the pitch.
Therefore there will be some element of risk involved if Barcelona gets him as he can be a disruptive presence. Nevertheless, the Catalonian side have made risky signings before as they brought in someone like Luis Suarez even with all his track record.
The move paid off well as the Uruguayan has been fantastic for them over the years. We think that if Barcelona can keep Icardi happy, then he would undoubtedly be an excellent signing for them. Martinez is definitely a top option as well, but he might cost a lot more because Milan seems to rate him more highly.
