Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni spoke about Inter striker Lautaro Martinez and how it would be a positive thing for him to join Barcelona in an interview with Argentine broadcaster TNT Sports earlier today.
“The more Argentine players that play together in the same club the better for us because they know each other better and we really benefit from that, also because we don’t have enough time to work with them on the national team.”
Scaloni then highlighted how it would be good for the 22-year-old Lautaro to join Barcelona in the summer, as it would allow him to play alongside friend and compatriot Lionel Messi.
“It would be very good if Messi and Lautaro played on the same team. In any case, it won’t be an easy operation, because Inter and Barcelona are great teams and they are equal in the hierarchy in Europe. But if they play together for us it’s much better because they would accumulate more minutes together.”
Barcelona are incredibly keen to sign Lautaro and have been following the player for many years now, believing him to be the perfect replacement for the aging Luis Suarez. Inter will only sell the player for his release clause of €111 million in cash, a figure that the Blaugrana seemingly cannot meet.
Instead, they have been attempting to find players that Inter would take in exchange, like Junior Firpo, but the Milanese club are insistent that the clause must be paid in total. His release clause expires on July 7th and the Nerazzurri could offer a new contract after that date.
