Barcelona and Inter to put negotiations on hold.
Little headway has been made between Barcelona and Inter Milan regarding Argentine striker Lautaro Martinez. The last update surrounded the player was about his release clause of €111 million expiring.
However, according to Sport, the two sides have come to an agreement that they will hold off talks for now and resume them back in August once their respective league seasons are over.
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The hold off likely has to do with no progress being made so the Catalan side would like to go back to the drawing board.
As for Inter, it would help Martinez refocus on the few games left in Serie A. Inter have been disappointed with his recent display and believe the constant transfer rumors have been a distraction.
With a stop to those negotiations, he won’t have to worry about that and can finish the season off on a high note.
President Josep Maria Bartomeu recently gave an interview where he spoke about his club’s negotiations with Inter for Martinez.
"“In the case of Lautaro the negotiations have stopped at the moment, we talked with Inter a couple of weeks ago. We’re in a phase of analysis.”Source: Mundo Deportivo"
The club’s strategy unlikely to change.
Despite a pact to hold off on talks until August, Barcelona are unlikely to deviate from their plan. They are still going to try to pull a cash + player swap for Martinez. Since Inter have reportedly dropped their asking price, a deal could be easier to reach.
Barcelona will pay 70 million euros + Junior Firpo for Lautaro Martínez. [cadena ser] pic.twitter.com/AdVtkzrkE9
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) July 13, 2020
Like in the rest of their transfer dealings, the price has been too steep for Barcelona as the club still need to sell players first so they can have the funds necessary to pay for a player like Martinez.
They were fortunate in the Juventus deal for Arthur because the Brazilian was a player the Serie A giants wanted. That hasn’t been the case with Inter.
The transfer window is going to look very different for Barcelona and the rest of Europe’s elite clubs. Martinez is one of the few top strikers available as Chelsea have already signed Timo Werner.
The need for a new striker to replace Luis Suarez has been well-documented. The pact may be an indicator that the two sides feel confident that a deal could eventually be reached.