Chelsea report: £80-100m Lautaro Martinez bid to be ACCEPTED, as Blues seek clinical world-class striker

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Chelsea can sign the superstar striker that they crave this month, with a monster bid of £86m deemed enough to take Lautaro Martinez to England

Chelsea target Lautaro Martinez of FC Internazionale prior to the pre-season friendly match between FC Internazionale and Al-Nassr at Yanmar Stadium Nagai on July 27, 2023 in Osaka, Japan.
(Image credit: Mattia Ozbot - Inter/Inter via Getty Images)

Chelsea have been told they can end their long-awaited search for a clinical No.9 by signing Lautaro Martinez this month.

The Blues splashed out £100 million on Martinez's partner from Inter Milan's last Scudetto win in 2021, Romelu Lukaku, when Thomas Tuchel thought he had the missing jigsaw piece for his puzzle that summer. The Belgian is now on loan at Roma, however, having gone back to the San Siro on loan in between.

Now, Inter have indicated that Martinez is for sale for the right price, too, with Chelsea still struggling for goals a whole two-and-a-half years later, having signed the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Nicolas Jackson in the interim. 

Romelu Lukaku of Chelsea reacts with frustration during a match

It never worked out for Lukaku at Chelsea – but it might for his former strike partner (Image credit: Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images)

Transfer insider Dean Jones has written for SportsLens that World Cup-winning forward Martinez is a target for the west Londoners – and that a Premier League move would appeal to him.

Over the 26-year-old has previously been linked with a host of English sides, primarily Arsenal and Tottenham, with the Nerazzurri reticent to consider offers. Jones claims that a bid of between £80 and £100 million would be enough to turn heads, however, though he admits that even that may not be enough to prevent Martinez from signing a new deal in Lombardy. 

"Insiders have told SportsLens that while the terms of a new contract with Inter are not complete, it is likely he commits his future to the Italian giants," he says, "But a January bid would throw such a moment into fresh uncertainty. Inter are suffering tricky financial times and have a tendency to cash in on high profile players to improve their situation."

Mauricio Pochettino the head coach / manager of Chelsea during the Premier League match between Burnley FC and Chelsea FC at Turf Moor on October 7, 2023 in Burnley, United Kingdom. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)

Mauricio Pochettino wants a new striker (Image credit: Getty Images)

The likelihood of Martinez leaving Inter isn't currently high but that could all change in the coming weeks. Chelsea have been known to act quickly on transfers and though there isn't an obvious desire for the Argentine right now, plans could be made depending on Victor Osimhen's chances of going to Stamford Bridge.

Martinez is valued at €110m by Transfermarkt. 

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Chelsea are ready to rival Manchester City and Barcelona for a Brazilian teenage starlet who has been likened to Lionel Messi.

Chelsea are also eyeing a striker who is scoring plenty of goals for La Liga surprise package Girona.

And the Blues have joined the race to sign a defender who has been likened to Raphael Varane.

Mark White
Mark White
Content Editor

Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.