Lautaro Martínez and his decision to continue or not at Inter Milan will mark the future of the Giuseppe Meazza club. The neroazzurri know of Barcelona's interest in the Argentine striker and are preparing for the Blaugrana to pay the clause. Even if he leaves against his will, Inter is already preparing a new first-rate 'bomber' in the event of an escape from El Toro heading to Barcelona.
In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, Giuseppe Marotta, sports director of Inter Milan, explains the line to follow with Lautaro. “The owners do not want to sell Lautaro: he is young, he has the future on his side and he is an important element for Conte. Then, of course, there is a clause … I don't know what Barcelona thinks, maybe they even have alternatives … I hope they don't pay the clause. If they do, Lautaro's place will be occupied by a weight player. A top player “, explains the manager in this transalpine newspaper.
Cavani is on the list of many clubs, also Inter, but Marotta took the opportunity to distance himself from this operation. “He is being monitored as a player who ends his contract but we have not entered in depth. Right now, he is quite far from Inter,” he said. The top striker that Marotta promises seems that it will not be the Uruguayan.
In this summer of signings two strong names also sound, Chiesa, from Fiorentina and Tonali, middle of Brescia. “They are two talents,” acknowledges Marotta, who is more convinced by the operation with the Leonessa than with the viola. “Fiorentina has great economic expectations with Chiesa, so we have not started to negotiate. They may even ask for more than 70 million. Tonali is more affordable. It is an operation that can be done better and it is also a young man who is growing, “he clarifies.
These operations will be financed, in part, with the money entered by Icardi. The 9th exit was cheaper than expected, but Marotta defends it in the current context of crisis. “It has been closed at a difficult time from a financial point of view. This agreement satisfies us today,” he explains. “Neymar-style operations, in which one team takes one player from another, will not be seen for many years,” he adds to justify himself.
On the rest of the squad, he closed one case and left another in the overhang. Zaniolo will not return to Inter (“requires a very high investment”) and leaves the future of Radja Naiggolan in suspense, who will return from the loan at Cagliari to later assess his situation.
A plan to overthrow Juve
All of these are objectives within a final plan: managing to dethrone Juventus, who commands with an iron fist in Calcium year after year. The sports director presses from this forum. “With Conte the growth has been noticed and now you cannot set limits, you have to raise the bar. We are carrying out Suning's mission and we want to win.” The Italian, who is confident in Eriksen's final adaptation (“These months will serve to get to know each other better”), believes that scudetto is still possible. “Anything can happen, we must have ambition”, recognize. The distance with Juventus is nine points with 13 games to go … Marotta seeks the miracle.