Barcelona getting increasingly closer to landing their main offseason target.
After months of speculation, Barcelona may finally be close to reaching a deal with Inter Milan for striker Lautaro Martinez.
According to Sport, conversations between the two clubs are at a stage where there is an agreement in principle.
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Should it go through, the deal would see Martinez signing for Barcelona for €60 million with Inter also receiving two players in exchange.
While the name of the players who may go the other way have not been revealed, Mundo Deportivo are reporting Arturo Vidal, Nelson Semedo and Junior Firpo are likely candidates to be included.
Inter have been after Vidal for the better part of last season but the Catalans refuted their attempts to sign him until now.
Both Semedo and Firpo have been made available with the former putting a hold on any possible contract extension and the latter failing to impress in his first season with the team.
Inter were also said to be interested in Arthur Melo and Carles Aleña but Barcelona were unwilling to include them in any sort of deal.
The Brazilian does not want to leave though he has also been rumored with a possible move to one of Inter’s rivals, Juventus. Aleña has yet to be given a proper chance with the club and is currently on loan at Betis. Their plan for him appears to be to finally give him a shot next season but know they must offload a number of midfielders to do so.
The next 10 to 15 days are going to be crucial as that is the time frame set for a deal to be reached. Neither side wants this to drag out any longer than it needs to be.
The biggest boost to Barcelona’s efforts is that Inter have responded well to not only the amount they offered but the players they would include in the deal. Martinez has expressed his desire to join and it seems that it will happen sooner rather than later.
When it does, that will be the first domino to fall for Barça in terms of signings for next season. With their replacement for Luis Suarez almost secure, they can then turn their attention to offloading players and strengthening other areas on the pitch.