Lautaro Martinez wants Inter Milan salary doubled amid Barcelona interest - report
Inter Milan could reportedly ward off interest from Barcelona in Lautaro Martinez by tying him down to a new contract.
The Argentina international impressed the Catalan club when Inter came face-to-face with Barca twice in the Champions League group stage.
He scored in a 2-1 defeat for Inter at the Camp Nou in October, before setting up Romelu Lukaku’s strike in another 2-1 defeat to the Spanish champions on Tuesday in Milan, which saw the Serie A side crash out of the competition.
According to Spanish outlet Sport, Martinez is looking for an improved deal at San Siro as interest mounts in the striker.
The 22-year-old’s agents were in Milan this week to hold talks with the club.
It is understood that they hope to negotiate a new contract which would double his salary, which is currently worth €2 million per year and runs until 2023, but Inter would prefer to offer a smaller wage hike.
The Italian club want his release clause to be raised from €111m to €200m, but Martinez’s agents would prefer for it to stay as it is.
The striker joined Inter from Racing Club in the summer of 2018 and has been in terrific form this season alongside Lukaku, scoring 13 goals in 21 appearances in all competitions.
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Inter currently sit on top of the Serie A table, two points clear of Juventus, and they travel to Fiorentina next on Sunday.
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Alasdair Mackenzie is a freelance journalist based in Rome, and a FourFourTwo contributor since 2015. When not pulling on the FFT shirt, he can be found at Reuters, The Times and the i. An Italophile since growing up on a diet of Football Italia on Channel 4, he now counts himself among thousands of fans sharing a passion for Ross County and Lazio.