Why Manchester City must plot a summer swoop for Lautaro Martinez

According to the Times, Manchester City have scouted Inter Milan’s highly-rated striker Lautaro Martinez.

Lautaro Martinez, 22, is having a fantastic season with the Nerazzurri thus far, as he’s bagged 16 goals and four assists in 27 appearances. The Argentinean’s form has been a pivotal part of Inter Milan’s Serie A title push, while he has struck up an impressive partnership with Romelu Lukaku in the final third.

Thus, it’s no surprise to see the 22-year-old striker attract interest from Manchester United as well, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s club will refuse to meet his £94million release clause, the report adds.

Speaking about Manchester City, Pep Guardiola’s side boasts of one of the best attacks across Europe. Regardless of Leroy Sane sustaining a ligament injury before the start of the season, City are the top scorers in the division.

Surprisingly, the Cityzens have struggled in front of goal as of late and have gone two games in a row without scoring for the first time under Pep Guardiola, after losing 1-0 to Manchester United in the Carabao Cup and 2-0 to Tottenham last week.

Sergio Aguero is the all-time top scorer for City and has worked really hard years after years to establish one’s self among the greatest strikers of all time, which to some extent, he has already done. Gabriel Jesus is already an option but as Aguero is 31 and out of contract at the end of next season, Guardiola must start looking out for the Argentinean’s long-term replacement in the summer.

Having said that, City must make a move for Lautaro Martinez, who is one of the hottest properties in the world of football. He is an extremely phenomenal talent and already has nine goals in 17 caps for Argentina. So it would appear as though the future is certainly bright for him at club and international level moving forward.

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Still only 22, Martinez could be viewed as a long-term replacement for his ageing compatriot, Aguero. Since arriving in Europe in 2018, he has netted 25 goals in 62 appearances across all competitions. The Argentina international has scored 16 goals in 26 appearances so far this season, proving how good a striker he is.

Verdict

Martinez looks like a fantastic striker who could add more firepower to Guardiola’s squad. Thus, City must definitely look to sign him in the summer.