Real Madrid Set to Rival Barcelona for Lautaro Martínez Summer Deal

?Barcelona are expected to face competition from Real Madrid in their pursuit of Inter forward Lautaro Martínez.

La Blaugrana are keen to bring in a new forward to rival (and eventually replace) the ageing Luis Suárez, with the recent emergency acquisition of Martin Braithwaite shockingly not seen as the long-term answer to their problems. Martínez has long been near the top of their wish list.

There has been talk of a €111m move to Camp Nou for the Argentine this summer, but according to ?Mundo Deportivo, things may not be that straightforward as ?Real are prepared to ‘give everything’ to sign Martínez.

President Florentino Pérez is understood to be a huge fan of the 22-year-old, who has netted 16 goals in all competitions this season, and he is now ready to go head-to-head with ?Barcelona for his signature.

After the two sides meet on the pitch on Sunday, it is said that there could be another Clásico going on behind the scenes as both teams fight to convince Martínez to join them over their rivals.

Real are incredibly eager to get the deal over the line as they have doubts over the longevity of their current strike force. ?Karim Benzema is now 32 years old and cannot go on forever, while Luka Jovi? has been incredibly underwhelming since joining last summer.

It is said that Real are actually leading the race for his signature as a result of all the off-field drama at Camp Nou. Barcelona officials have sacked their manager, faced questions about hiring companies to defend them on social media and even clashed with their own players in recent weeks, and it is thought that Martínez sees them as slightly unstable right now.

While that has not scared Martínez away, MD believe that the striker is very much aware of the potential issues of joining Barcelona, especially when Real have been relatively quiet at board level.

At the end of the day, given he will have an active €111m release clause this summer, it looks like this one will come down to whichever side can make the best offer to him.

That will obviously involve salary, but Martínez will also need confidence he will play a major role in the team, so whichever side can offer him that should be able to come out on top.

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