Barcelona’s star signing of the summer has agreed to personal terms with the club, however, the parent club continues to prolong the negotiations.
Barcelona continues its optimistic chase behind Lautaro Martinez despite the severe shortage of funds the club faces due to the pandemic. The Catalans have been keen on signing the player since the start of 2019/20 season, however, Inter Milan have been stern with their negotiations after turning down all efforts made by the Blaugrana.
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However, a few weeks ago they were strong rumours that stated that Inter Milan was open to selling their Argentine striker to Barca if they offer Arturo Vidal on a permanent deal along with Antoine Griezmann on a season-long loan and 90 million euros in cash.
The board at the Camp Nou considered the offer closely and decided to turn down the offer since losing out two players along with 90 million euros for a striker who has performed for just a half-season in Europe’s top-flight division would be a massive risk that the Catalan club can no longer afford after their long list of flop signings in the past.
Despite the board at Barca considering the swap plus cash offer as a massive risk, Antonio Conte has now decided that he no longer would require the services of the South American midfielder he once worked with at Juventus. Since Inter Milan no longer demand Arturo Vidal and Antoine Griezmann has made it clear that he wants to continue at the Camp Nou, that leaves out only Ousmane Dembele and Philippe Coutinho as potential players to be offered in the swap deal.
Don Balon claims that although Barca has agreed to personal terms with their long-term transfer target, the issue that lies ahead for the club is meeting the demands set out by the Italian giants.
Ousmane Dembele has joined forces with Antoine Griezmann and has conveyed his message to the board that he would not move until his contract runs out. With both, the French forwards out of the picture, the last resort for Bartomeu is to offer Philippe Coutinho to his former club in a swap deal for Lautaro Martinez.
As the Catalan club continues to find feasible options to land their long term target in the summer, Lautaro Martinez continues to show his commitment towards Barcelona by turning down the offers from other clubs as his only wish is to play alongside Lionel Messi at the Camp Nou as well.
For now, Bartomeu and his team can only hope that their next offer for Lautaro Martinez does not get turned down, or else they would have to wait until the winter transfer window or for another full season.