Why Lautaro Martinez to Manchester City would be a smart move
According to reports from The Mirror, Manchester City are interested in signing Inter Milan’s youngster Lautaro Martinez. They are set to battle city rivals Manchester United to secure the services of the Argentine.
Martinez moved from Racing Club to Inter in the summer of 2018 for a fee of £20m. His heroics against bitter rivals AC Milan impressed one and all, as he scored and assisted one each in their 3-2 win last season.
According to Calciomercato (h/t Mirror), Martinez’s release clause is around the region of £95m. Based on early signs, the striker certainly has the potential to follow in the footsteps of his compatriot Sergio Aguero, Manchester City’s all-time leading goal-scorer.
City are in need of adding firepower to their ranks and Martinez would surely be a great addition.
The 22-year-old has been a regular starter under Inter manager Antonio Conte and has proven to be an excellent talent. His form has dramatically improved this season, winning matches single-handedly on several occasions.
Martinez, along with Romelu Lukaku, has fired Inter Milan to the top of the Serie A, where they are having a tough fight with Juventus to claim the number one spot in the league.
Meanwhile, Manchester City have lacked the intensity they had in all of their title-winning campaigns. Pep Guardiola’s team are currently 4th in the table after losing to Liverpool last week.
They have already lost 3 matches so far and it does not come as a good sign for a team that is challenging for the title.
Guardiola has only two established centre-forwards at his disposal in Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus. They need to have at least 3 centre-forwards and that would help the manager rotate the squad in various other competitions.
Aguero has been scoring goals for City but he is nearing the twilight of his career. Meanwhile, Gabriel Jesus has been misfiring this season. Thus, to improve the bench strength, Pep must bring in Lautaro Martinez, who is just 22 and can be a replacement for Aguero in the long run.
With 5 goals and 1 assist in 10 league games this season, Martinez has averaged 4.1 shots, 1.1 dribbles per game and a 59.4% pass success rate, according to whoscored.
In Martinez, Guardiola would have a quality player, who is still young and has a lot to offer.
Read more
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Verdict
Should City make a move for the Argentine, they must be well ahead of their rivals to secure his services. But if a move goes through, he would be an excellent option for City.