Spurs face Atletico Madrid battle in Lautaro Martinez transfer race

Jacque Talbot
Jacque Talbot
  • Updated: 14 Apr 2022 09:47 BST
  • 3 min read
Inter striker Lautaro Martinez
© ProShots

Tottenham maintain a strong interest in Inter attacker Lautaro Martinez and see the forward as one of the options who can come in and support Harry Kane next season, FootballTransfers understands.

Spurs sporting director Fabio Paratici is a fan of the 24-year-old and even tried to do a deal for him in January.

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It's understood that Tottenham intend to go back again in the summer transfer window for the Argentine and simultaneously bolster their side with the permanent signing of Dejan Kulusevski, too, as they look to appease manager Antonio Conte.

The Italian was left fuming with the club’s performance during the January transfer window, in which they failed to strengthen their ranks as significantly as he wished.

As a consequence, the relationship between him and the board became strained to such an extent that there were rumours he could quit the club only weeks after arriving.

Atletico Madrid want Lautaro

There is no guarantee that the Premier League side will be able to secure the signing of Lautaro, however. Spurs will have to fight hard to see off stiff competition from beaten Champions League quarter-finalists Atletico Madrid.

The Spanish champions, who already have Lautaro’s compatriots Angel Correa and Rodrigo de Paul in the squad, are readying themselves for Luis Suarez's departure when his contract is up in two months and see the 24-year-old as the ideal candidate to replace him.

Having played a key role in Inter’s Serie A success last season, scoring 17 goals and assisting 10 more, Lautaro is again enjoying a productive campaign for the Nerazzurri. He has scored 14 Serie A goals but has created only two more, suffering slightly from Romelu Lukaku’s sale to Chelsea last summer.

Tottenham hope that the forward could be the player to relieve some of the offensive burden from Harry Kane and Heung-min Son, who are the most prolific duo in Premier League history.

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