Barcelona director of football Eric Abidal has confirmed that the Catalan giants are interested in acquiring the service of Argentine forward Lautaro Martinez as the replacement for Luis Suarez.
The latest development comes at time when rumours are beefing up that the Uruguayan international could leave Camp Nou next year. His contract with Barcelona, though, still has 18 months to go.
However with Antoine Griezmann pushing hard for the role of the central striker in Ernesto Valverde’s line up, Barca’s interest in Lionel Messi’s national teammate seems justified.
At Inter Milan, the 22-year-old has emerged as one of the most lethal finisher in Serie A and a chance to play beside his idol Messi at Barcelona could well be his dream-come-true moment.
Currently, playing alongside Rumelu Lukaku, Martinez has already scored five goals in 12 league games and three more in four Champions League outings.
“He is a complete player, I think he is performing at a great level. I know Barca, I know what adaptation is like, but I don’t pay much attention to the player who plays every weekend, I look at others,” Abidal was quoted as saying to Mundo Deportivo.
Hinting at a possible departure for Suarez, Abidal said that he had already expressed the club’s desire to sign another forward to the the 32-year-old.
“Last year I already told him that it was going to be like that, that we were going to look for an offensive player and I don’t say he did not accept it, he accepted it because he wants the best for the team,” he added.