Inter Milan have reportedly set their sights on Arsenal frontman Alexandre Lacazette in the hope of replacing Lautaro Martinez.
Argentine Martinez has been heavily linked with a move to Barcelona in order to link up with countryman Lionel Messi.
Inter are refusing to sell for less than his €111 million release clause, per Sky Sports.
Barca’s finances have taken a hit due to the coronavirus pandemic, which makes the deal less likely.
However, Inter have seemingly made moves to replace the 22-year-old, in case the Catalans do stump up the fee.
Mundo Deportivo report that Lacazette is at the top of their list.
Time to go?
29-year-old Lacazette has had a mixed spell at Arsenal since signing from Lyon in 2017.
Despite being a prolific goal scorer in France, this hasn’t quite been the case in England.
His three seasons in London thus far have yielded 14, 13 and seven goals respectively. While this is not awful, it is certainly underwhelming for a player bought with such high hopes.
He has also suffered from a few injuries, and Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang has kept him out of the team at times.
The selection of managers that have coached the pair have struggled to fit them both into the same side, despite the duo seemingly striking up a good partnership.
It is perhaps unfortunate that the Arsenal coaches have not played a 4-3-3 with Lacazette between Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe.
Despite his struggles, Lacazette clearly does have substantial quality and is a very good link-up man in attack
Arsenal may decide to cash in on both Lacazette and Aubameyang, due to their ages and contract situations.
The likes of Moussa Diaby have been linked to the Gunners, as Mikel Arteta looks to make the side his own.
A suitable replacement
Lacazette is certainly an interesting name to be linked with Inter.
It makes sense on the face of things, but one might think that Antonio Conte would target someone younger.
Selling one of the world’s top striking prospects should mean spending the money on a similar profile.
Especially considering they have recently acquired a large fee for Mauro Icardi, so money is not an issue.
Inter seem to have conceded defeat to Liverpool for Timo Werner, but this is the type of player they should target.
Young, promising strikers who have already proven their quality, like Victor Osihmen or Marcus Thuram, may be smarter options for the future.
They do of course have Romelu Lukaku, so Lacazette’s creative ability may aid the Belgian’s performances.
Conte is known to try and bring quick success, as seen by Inter’s vast improvement this season.
So perhaps Alex Lacazette is a good option considering the route that the Italian boss likes to take.
