Manchester United are reportedly weighing up the prospect of snapping up Lautaro Martinez from Inter Milan in the summer.
According to a report by The Sun, Manchester United will prioritise signing a striker in the summer transfer window. To that end, the Red Devils have drawn up a shortlist of four centre-forwards to pursue, with 24-year-old Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez one of the options on their radar.
Lautaro Martinez has gone from strength to strength since joining Inter Milan from Racing Club in July 2018. In nearly four years, the Argentine international has become a key figure for club and country.
To date, the 24-year-old has amassed 61 goals and 22 assists in 162 appearances for Inter Milan, playing a key role in their Serie A triumph last season. He was also a part of the triumphant Argentina squad in the Copa America last summer. Martinez’s exploits have not gone unnoticed, with some of the biggest clubs in Europe, including Manchester United, setting their sights on him.
The interest from Manchester United stems from the uncertainties surrounding the future of Cristiano Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani. While Ronaldo has been heavily linked with Paris Saint-Germain, Cavani’s contract with Manchester United runs out at the end of the ongoing campaign.
The veteran Uruguayan striker has also been linked with plenty of clubs in Europe and South America, with River Plate and Boca Juniors his latest suitors. Mason Greenwood is indefinitely suspended, and Marcus Rashford is largely playing out wide, meaning Manchester United are in need of a striker.
Lautaro Martinez is thus a viable target for Manchester United. The Argentine also brings a trophy-winning mentality that is desperately lacking at Old Trafford, having won the Serie A and Copa America last year. Apart from the 24-year-old Argentine striker, Manchester United’s wishlist includes Erling Haaland, Harry Kane and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
But with each of their targets being highly sought-after in the transfer market, Manchester United will need to make their move quickly. For now though, the Red Devils have created a shortlist of strikers they could pursue in the summer transfer window, with signing a centre-forward a priority ahead of the 2022/23 season.
