Chelsea have a ‘strong interest’ in €150m Serie A striker as Pochettino evaluates January offer
Chelsea linked Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez with Marko Arnautovic
Chelsea are reportedly considering a move for Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez in January as Mauricio Pochettino looks to add more goals to his side.
The Blues scored just 38 Premier League goals last season and struggled to a 0-0 draw against Bournemouth at the weekend.
New signing Nicolas Jackson has put in a couple of decent performances but has managed just one goal so far. Fellow new attacking recruit Christopher Nkunku is sidelined with a serious knee injury, too, while Armando Broja has been unavailable since December last year.
It would therefore make sense for Chelsea to target a new striker when the transfer re-opens and they have some of Europe’s biggest stars on their radar.
As previously reported by TEAMtalk, the Blues are ‘dreaming’ of adding Napoli goal machine Victor Osimhen to their squad at the end of the season. If they fail to qualify for the Champions League, however, that could prove to be impossible.
As a result, Pochettino has switched his attention to another Serie A superstar, but Chelsea may need to smash the British transfer record – which Chelsea set themselves with a £115m bid for Moises Caicedo – to sign him in January.
READ MORE: Chelsea fighting losing battle with top Tottenham target ready to quit after Pochettino decision
Chelsea have ‘strong interest’ in Martinez
According to reports from Spain (as cited by Sport Witness), Chelsea have a ‘strong interest’ in signing Martinez.
The Argentina international, who helped his country win the World Cup last year, has an excellent goal scoring record in Serie A.
Martinez scored an impressive 21 goals in 35 league games last term. He has began this season in the same vein, too, netting five goals in four matches so far.
With that in mind, he could arguably be the kind of consistent goal scorer Chelsea need to challenge for the top four again. As mentioned, though, he would be a very expensive addition.
The report notes that Inter are not willing to sell Martinez, who is their captain, as he is too important to the team. He is also under contract until It is claimed, however, that a bid of €150m (approx. £130m) could be enough to convince them to sell him.
That would be a new British transfer record if Chelsea did meet the Italian club’s demands. With that in mind, it will be interesting to see if the London club do make a concrete bid for the 26-year-old in January.
READ MORE: Chelsea forced to sell Tottenham linked star in January due to FFP; £25m required for deal
