After Lautaro Martinez’s fine showing against Atletico Madrid in Inter’s final pre-season, Corriere dello Sport have taken it upon themselves to explore how the Nerazzurri burned all competition to sign the highly rated Argentine youngster.
“Inter had been following il Toro for the past three years, starting with the national youth teams, where there were five-star reports from the scouts of the youth team (the late Casiraghi and Manighetti ), but also of Verdelli and the then head Mirabelli,” the report starts.
“The decisive way forward came with the opinions of Baccin and Ausilio. That was the moment when the deal took off. Last summer the sporting director tried to buy him together with Sampdoria because he did not have the money and because Lautaro did not have an EU passport. At the time he cost €12-13 million and was just back from an injury to a foot that some created some doubt and nothing was done.
“Also on the Bull were Atletico Madrid who seemed to have signed him. The boy had said yes to Simeone , but, thanks to the renewal of the contract with Racing and the increased demands of the Argentinians, the colchoneros could not close the operation. Inter did not expect such assistance and then made immediate contact with the technical secretary of the club, Diego Milito, who, helped by the Nerazzurri vice-president Javier Zanetti , pushed Lautaro to prefer Milan. Once the operation was closed, Ausilio returned to Italy with the contracts signed and that was that.”