Pochettino stunned, as Man Utd ponder bid for £130m Chelsea striker target as Martial replacement
Man Utd linked striker Lautaro Martinez of Inter Milan
A surprising report has claimed that Manchester United are interested in signing Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez, who is also a target for Chelsea.
The Red Devils signed Rasmus Hojlund from Atalanta for £72m this summer, and the 20-year-old is likely to lead the line for years to come.
Despite this, it has been claimed that Erik ten Hag is looking to bring in a more experienced forward next summer to provide competition for Hojlund.
Several strikers have been linked with a move to Old Trafford recently. This comes amid claims that Ten Hag is willing to part ways with Anthony Martial.
The Frenchman’s contract is due to expire at the end of the season. As a result, the last opportunity to get any fee for him would be to sell him in January. Otherwise, they will lose him on a free transfer.
Despite Martial falling down the pecking order in recent seasons, Man Utd will still need to bring in a replacement for him if his contract isn’t extended.
Reports now suggest that the Red Devils could turn to one of Serie A’s biggest stars as a solution to that problem.
Man Utd, Chelsea linked with Martinez
According to reports from Spain, as cited by Sport Witness, Man Utd are ‘ready to go with everything’ to sign Martinez at the end of the season.
It’s claimed that Ten Hag sees the Argentina international, who won the World Cup last year, as the ‘key piece’ to help ‘recover the competitive level’ at Old Trafford next season.
Inter Milan will reportedly have to sell players to balance their accounts next summer, so they could entertain a sizeable bid for Martinez.
A prolific goal scorer, the 26-year-old scored an outstanding 28 goals in all competitions last season, as well as laying on 11 assists. Martinez also played a key role as Inter Milan reached the Champions League final.
The Argentine has got off to an excellent start this term, too, scoring six goals in six games so far.
As previously reported by TEAMtalk, Martinez is one of several strikers that Chelsea are considering making a move for in January, as Mauricio Pochettino aims to turn his team’s fortunes around.
He would not be a cheap addition, though. It has been suggested that Inter Milan value him at €150m (approx. £130.4m), so Man Utd and Chelsea would have to stump up a huge fee to have any chance of signing him.
With that in mind, it will be interesting to see if Chelsea make a move for Martinez in January. If they don’t, Man Utd could potentially swoop in for his signature at the end of the season, if the reports are correct.
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