Inter striker Lautaro Martinez is back in Italy after his long Copa America campaign and extended vacation, and he is only focusing on preparing on the season with contract extension talks only set to begin after the end of the transfer window.
This according to today’s print edition of Rome-based newspaper Corriere dello Sport, who report that the 23-year-old is not yet subject to any offers from major European clubs despite heavy interest.
The Nerazzurri are intent on resolving Martinez’s contract situation as soon as possible, with the player’s current deal set to run until the end of June 2022 and several suitors potentially ready to move for him.
Barcelona are thought to be among the clubs which the Argentine would seriously consider joining, with the Catalan giants having offered him a contract worth a net of €10 million per season prior to the pandemic.
However, Barcelona cannot currently come close to meeting the Nerazzurri’s €80-90 million valuation, while fellow Spanish club Atletico Madrid have only made a small exploratory offer and English side Arsenal’s interest is not very serious yet and has not convinced the player.
For this reason, the Nerazzurri will feel that they can negotiate from a position of some strength as they look to negotiate a wage increase from the net €2.7 million per season the Argentine currently offers, with the player not likely to successfully demand €6-7 million in the absence of any serious offers from any suitors.
The Nerazzurri will await the presence of Martinez’s agent in Italy to begin talks over an extension, but only expect to deal with his situation after August 31, with the player’s only focus right now being on preparing for the season with the squad and manager Simone Inzaghi now that he is back in training.
