Tottenham Hotspur are ready to shatter their transfer record with a stunning £75 million bid for Inter Milan star and Serie A champion Lautaro Martinez, as reported by Gazzetta dello Sport.
Typical, eh Spurs fans.
The one time Daniel Levy is willing to break the bank for an elite-level footballing talent, it just so happens that the man in question appears to have next to no interest in signing on the dotted line.
Lautaro, a penalty-box poacher labelled the second coming of Sergio Aguero by Argentine legend Hernan Crespo, has made no secret of his desire to stay at the San Siro, despite the fact that a cash-strapped Inter side have lost Achraf Hakimi, Antonio Conte and his erstwhile strike-partner Romelu Lukaku since lifting the Serie A trophy three months ago.
“Lautaro Martinez is happy at Inter and in Italy. His decision is to stay,” said the striker’s agent, Alejandro Camano.
“The relationship with Inter is perfect. Lautaro Martinez is calm. Yes, it is true that there were offers, but today he is fine and we will sit down to talk about the future.”
Are Tottenham wasting their time with Lautaro Martinez?
But Tottenham are not going to accept defeat just yet.
Whether they should be admired for their persistence – or whether they are merely wasting their time on a player who doesn’t want to join – is up for debate.
After testing the waters with an opening bid in the region of £60 million, Gazzetta dello Sport claims that Spurs are weighing up a new offer of almost £20 million more.
Were Inter to accept, Martinez would comfortably surpass Tanguy Ndombele as the most expensive signing in the club’s 138-year history.
Martinez is yet to sign a new contract at the San Siro. It is claimed that his agent was less than impressed by a recent offer of £75,000-a-week.
But, given the choice, a forward snapped up from River Plate in 2018 would put pen to paper in an instant, regardless of how much money Tottenham are willing to dump on the table.
According to Eurosport, Arsenal were also prepared to reach deep into their pockets for Martinez, offering the striker a staggering £275,000-a-week contract at the Emirates.
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