TOTTENHAM and Arsenal both allegedly failed with bids for Lautaro Martinez in the summer – now they will need to splash out £85million to get him.
The Argentina forward is thought to be close to agreeing new terms with Inter Milan that will see him commit his future to the Serie A club for the next five years.
The 24-year-old’s current deal expires in 2023.
However, Gazzetta dello Sport claims he is expected to pen his new agreement before the end of the current campaign.
And that means that Tottenham, Arsenal and Atletico Madrid will all have to fork out massively for Martinez if they renew their interest in him.
Today’s report from Italy states that all three clubs tabled offers for the South American in the summer window but Inter rejected them all.
It states that both Tottenham and Atletico Madrid had £76.9m bids for Martinez rebuffed.
Meanwhile a lower offer made by Arsenal was also knocked back with cash-strapped Inter able to hang on to the star after selling Romelu Lukaku to Chelsea for £97.5m.
Inter may have been forced into selling their prized-asset if he entered the final 12 months of his contract.
But they will slap an £85m asking price on his head should he put pen-to-paper on an extension.
Despite intense speculation over his future, Martinez has continued his red-hot form with two goals from two Serie A games this season.
That follows on from his 17 goals and 10 assists in the Nerazzurri’s title-winning campaign last term.
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
