Barcelona number nine target slams door on move – “If they don’t kick me out, I’ll stay here” | OneFootball

Barcelona are casting around for a number nine this summer, but it appears that Inter forward Lautaro Martinez will not be the answer to their issues. Following the exit of Robert Lewandowski, the Catalan side are searching for his replacement.

A number of names have been linked to the Blaugrana, none more so than Julian Alvarez. Yet the difficulty of signing him from Atletico Madrid means that Barcelona have seemingly shifted their attention to Chelsea’s Joao Pedro. Another name linked has been Inter forward Lautaro Martinez, who they were interested in some time ago.

Lautaro Martinez shuts down Barcelona speculation

However Martinez has moved quickly to quiet rumours of Barcelona’s interest. In an interview with Ole, as quoted by Marca, Martinez declared that he has no plans to leave Inter.

“I would definitely like to. My family and I are happy; we even own a restaurant, the children go to school and have their friends. I find it hard to imagine myself anywhere else. You never know, but if they don’t kick me out, I’ll stay here.”

Inter President backs Martinez words

In addition, Inter President Giuseppe Marotta has also moved to kill talk of a move for their captain. Marotta told 365scores (again quoted by Marca) that “There is no truth to the rumours of Lautaro’s transfer to Barcelona.”

Any move for Martinez would likely have been a costly one at any rate. The 28-year-old has now been there for eight years, and is one of the players they have built around. There is also an argument that Martinez could have been a strange fit with Barcelona, given he almost always operates in a front two for the Nerazzurri, and would be required to lead the line for Barcelona and hold the ball up. Martinez is a rather different type of forward, although both Pedro and Alvarez contrast greatly too.