Inter Milan will finalise the signing of reported Arsenal-target, Lautaro Martinez, next week, according to Racing Club president Victor Blanco.
Martinez has been the subject of interest from European clubs, and will soon by taking a well-trodden path from Argentina to Italy.
Racing Club’s president Victor Blanco has confirmed that the deal will go ahead within a week after agreeing terms with Inter Milan.
“Next week we’ll try to finalise the remaining details and conclude the sale of Lautaro Martinez,” Blanco told La Oral Deportiva and Radio La Red (via Football Italia).
“We have not yet defined his price-tag. The offer we have today is $22m (€17.9m), that is what we informed Valencia of, as they have the priority. The idea is to close the sale after Carnival season.
“Whether or not he remains with us until December doesn’t just depend on Racing, so we’ll see in June. We are all very happy, the negotiations are at a very advanced stage.
“Now we’ll take a break, because we have to speak to Bahia Blanca representatives to define the missing details. We want to do things right.
“The fact he is one of the most expensive players in Argentina is down to the player, his family and his agent. The negotiations were intense, it took a while, but now we are very happy. It makes us proud that our players can go on to such important clubs around the world.”
Arsenal were linked with the 20-year-old back in October, but had other priorities.
The club was looking to sign a striker, but opted for the more experienced and established Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang instead.
It now looks like they’ll have to look else where if they want to sign a young striker.
Martinez has been in excellent form for Racing this season, scoring seven goals in nine appearances.
He recently netted a hat-trick against CA Huracan.
With no caps for the Argentina senior team, Martinez may have struggled to get a work permit at Arsenal.
It’s a shame to miss out on a good young striker, especially one that comes from a country renowned for producing quality forwards.
We’ll just have to be content with the £100m worth of striking talent we already have.