Young Inter Milan-owned striker Nikola Iliev has named Nerazzurri and Argentine superstar Lautaro Martinez as his idol.
Speaking whilst being unveiled as a CSKA 1948 player, via L’Interista, the Bulgarian noted that he has tried to learn as much as he possibly can from the 25-year-old when getting the chance to work with him.
Young Inter striker Nikola Iliev has made the switch to CSKA 1948 in his native Bulgaria.
The 19-year-old joins the club on a season-long loan.
This will be Iliev’s first regular experience in senior football. To date, he has been part of the Nerazzurri’s youth setup, playing with the Primavera team.
Iliev has also had some opportunities to work and train with Inter’s senior squad.
And as a forward, he has found it particularly useful to be able to work alongside Martinez.
The Argentine has been something of a talisman in attack for the Nerazzurri, particularly in the past couple seasons.
Having arrived at Inter in the summer of 2018 still needing to grow a lot, Martinez has hit another gear.
Over each of the past two seasons, the Argentine has scored more than twenty goals. This has made him the Nerazzurri’s top scorer on both occasions.
Nikola Iliev Calls Inter Superstar Lautaro Martinez His Idol
Apart from his goalscoring, Martinez has also been a key man for Inter in terms of his linkup play and defensive workrate.
This has meant that he has become something of a leader within the squad. Next season, Martinez will wear the captain’s armband,
For Iliev, this makes the 25-year-old a real role model.
“I’ve trained a lot with the Inter first team,” the Bulgarian said.
“Lautaro is one of my idols,” he continued. “I’ve tried to learn as much from him as possible.”
He also noted that “I still keep in touch with my Inter teammates.”
