Barcelona warned off move for Julian Alvarez alternative | OneFootball

Barcelona are determined to sign a new striker this summer, but they are starting to run out of time before the transfer window closes. Julian Alvarez is still their leading target, but with Atletico Madrid standing firm, they have been forced to consider alternative targets – and one of them is Lautaro Martinez.

Last week, Barcelona sporting director Deco held talks with Martinez’s agent to gauge whether a deal could be done this summer. The 28-year-old is a player that has been on the Catalans’ radar for some time, and if they do miss out on Alvarez, he could be an ideal replacement, given that he is widely considered to be an elite number nine.

However, there is little chance that Barcelona sign Martinez this summer, with Sport reporting that Inter Milan consider him to be untouchable. Thus, there is unlikely to be any offers considered, but even if there was, it would take an offer of over €100m for the Nerazzurri to even consider it.

Barcelona not thinking about Martinez move at this stage

Presently, a move for Martinez is not something that Barcelona are considering. Their plan remains to sign Alvarez, with the hope that Atleti will eventually relax their stance and open the door for a deal to be done. If that does not happen, only then would the Inter man be sought, although it does appear that it would be equally difficult to sign him.

Barcelona are running out of time to sign a new striker, and given that the transfer window is entering its latter stages, clubs are likely to start charging a premium for their players, given that they would have limited time to sort a replacement. Thus, it will not be easy for Deco to do the required business, but it is something that must be done.