Former Premier League player and talkSPORT pundit Gabby Agbonlahor has shared his verdict on Arsenal making a potential transfer move for Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez.
Earlier this month, it was reported that the Gunners are eyeing a summer transfer swoop for the Argentine, who could cost between £70m-£80m to sign.
This has led to one pundit sharing his thoughts on the potential move.
Speaking to Football Insider, Agbonlahor had this to say about Arsenal’s potential swoop for Martinez.
He said: “I think it depends on the fee itself. If Arsenal can get the cost down to £60m then I think it’d be good business.
“Nketiah could be allowed to go on loan and Martinez would join Gabriel Jesus as Arsenal’s two main strikers.
“But anything more than £60m I think is too much. He’s not quick at all – he’s a good finisher but there is a major lack of pace to demand a transfer fee that large.”
Back in the 2018 summer transfer window, the striker joined Inter from Argentina side Racing Club in a deal worth a reported fee of €22m (£19m).
Since then, the 25-year-old has made 213 appearances for the Italian club across all competitions, scoring 90 goals and delivering 31 assists along the way.
This season has seen the £189k-per-week centre-forward feature in all of Inter’s 32 matches, starting 28 of them, which shows just how important he is for the club.
Across his 23 Serie A appearances, the World Cup winner has scored 13 goals in total, as well as racking up more shots at goal (83) than any other player in the division.
Would £60m be a fair price for Arsenal to pay for Lautaro Martinez?
Yes
No
Taking into account his goalscoring pedigree and clear attacking prowess, it’s easy to see why it would take a significant transfer fee from Arsenal to secure his signature.
In terms of what sort of striker he is, Martinez has both Jesus and Nketiah included on FBref’s list of similar players to him as well as Robert Lewandowski and former Gunners attacker Alexandre Lacazette.
Moving forward, should Mikel Arteta look to add the Inter star to his squad for next season, we feel that the club should make a move to the Italian side to see how much it would cost them to do so.
However, as Agbonlahor said, it would be in Arsenal’s best interest to try and pay as little as possible for him.