Tottenham Hotspur: Insider now issues Lautaro Martinez transfer claim

Tottenham Hotspur would now be a favoured destination for Lautaro Martinez over their north London rivals if he is to leave this summer. 

This has been suggested by the insider Dean Jones, who has been speaking on his latest Ranks FC podcast to discuss Antonio Conte’s search for a new striker.

It is reported Spurs made their move for the Argentinian striker last summer, with a £60m bid believed to have been agreed upon by Inter.

However, since this failed move, Martinez has put pen to paper on a new deal at the San Siro, and reports now believe Spurs are set to launch a €90m (£77m) move for the 24-year-old.

And with Arsenal also credited with an interest in the striker, Jones now believes he would choose Tottenham over their rivals if he was to move this summer.

He said: “I’m told this week, just checking in on the situation, they just said to me, ‘look, it’s not likely that he comes to the Premier League’, but it’s definitely possible if the right avenue opens up.

“He said he won’t join Arsenal because they’re not in the Champions League. So they were knocking on the door before – that’s not going to happen, Lautaro Martinez needs to be in the Champions League. So he won’t join Arsenal. But Tottenham, Chelsea, if they come forward with a good proposal, maybe.”

TIF Thoughts on Jones’ comments…

We do find this an extremely odd potential transfer if it was to go through this summer. We appreciate Tottenham’s need for a backup striker and good squad depth for the new campaign.

However, we do find it difficult to imagine how Conte would be able to keep both Martinez and Harry Kane happy in the current system he has implemented at Spurs with just the one striker.

Martinez, who was called an ‘animal’ by Lionel Scaloni, is Inter’s main man up top, and given Kane’s stature at Spurs and across Europe, would the Argentinian be willing to play second-fiddle to the England captain?

There is little doubting Martinez would be an excellent option to have, however, spending almost £80m on a backup striker who could potentially cause issues if he did not play as frequently as he’d like does seem unrealistic, for us.