Legendary Barcelona forward Hristo Stoichkov has shared his belief that Lautaro Martinez could become as good as Gabriel Batistuta was if he is to join Barcelona.

The highly rated 22-year-old striker has been heavily linked with a switch to the reigning La Liga champions ahead of the next transfer window and he is understood to already have an agreement in principle over personal terms with the Blaugrana club.

“I love Lautaro, I like attackers like him. He has great mobility and works a lot for the team. He never stands still and this is more important than scoring a goal,” Stoichkov began an interview with Joga Bonito, as cited by Italian news outlet FCInter1908.it.

The former Bulgarian national team striker, who played for Barcelona between 1990 and 1995, then spoke on the possibility of Lautaro becoming as good as Batistuta.

“If Lautaro goes to Barcelona he could become an important striker like Batistuta was.”

This season Lautaro, who has a contract with Inter through to the end of the 2022/23 season, has made 32 appearances across all competitions to date.

During his time on the park, which totals just over 2500 minutes, he has scored 16 goals and provided four assists for his teammates.