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Written by Martin Graham | 4 June 2022
Lautaro Martinez dashed all Chelsea hopes of persuading him to move from Inter Milan to Stamford Bridge with his recent comments committing his future to his club.
The Blues have been linked with Martinez as they pursue another striker in the transfer window. Despite having the talents of Kai Havertz, Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner backed by the likes of Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic, their top scorer was midfielder Mason Mount.
There are also reports that Lukaku is looking for ways out after a turbulent return to the club from Inter Milan as he partnered with Martinez in a big way.
Chelsea have been looking to bring the Argentine to Stamford Bridge in the summer, perhaps to partner with Lukaku once again and help the struggling striker return to his best. However, El Toro put down all the speculation with his recent comment he made to the media while on international duty with Argentina.
“My plan is clear, I really want to stay at Inter next season,” he said. “I have not received calls from the club until today, I want to continue at Inter next season.”
Inter Milan have reportedly held talks with Chelsea over the move and agreed a transfer fee of £59m for the player. However, it now looks like a long shot.
The Nerazzurri recently lost one of their main strikers, Ivan Perisic, who joined former coach Antonio Conte at Tottenham Hotspur to fulfill his dream of playing in the Premier League. They are also likely to lose defender Alessandro “Borga” Bastoni to the same coach.
Losing Martinez, who finished the season as top scorer and led the club from the top to two titles – the Coppa Italia and Supercopa Italiana – would drastically eliminate their chances of reclaiming the Scudetto they lost to city rivals AC Milan.
Thomas Tuchel receives £200m war fund to rebuild Chelsea
Meanwhile, Chelsea will lose a lot of players in the summer. They have already lost central defenders Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen and could lose Cesar Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso.
Rebuilding is inevitable and for this reason, the club’s new owners have agreed a £200m budget to rebuild the squad, which will start with defence.
Other strikers associated with the club besides Martinez are Robert Lewandowski, Ousmane Dembele and Neymar. Dembele is the only name whose ties are strong in the media but with a long summer approaching, there could be surprises.
