Lionel Messi, Barcelona Could Benefit From Lautaro Martínez On The Pitch, Analysis Shows

A tactical analysis shows that Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martínez could fit well with Lionel Messi and the Barcelona squad on the pitch.

Inter Milan’s star Martínez is currently one of the most talked-about players in the market today. The 22-year-old centre-forward is viewed to be among the best modern strikers on the planet and has emerged as a prolific scorer in recent years. The Argentine youngster has an incredible physique, power, and pace which enables him to outlast his defenders. But pundits think that his intelligent movement, abilitiy to exploit defenders in minimal spaces and positioning make him a one-of-a-kind player.

Barcelona has been linked to Martínez this summer. Multiple sources claim that the Catalan club has been weighing in on either Neymar or Martínez given the financial crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Martínez is truly exceptional on the pitch. But as opposed to Neymar, who already got along well with Messi in the past, Barca might have no crystal clear view of how Martínez will really fit-in with the squad.

Total Football Analysis recently analyzed the playing style of Martínez to see how he could possibly help Barcelona. The tactical analysis compared Martínez’s most successful areas on the pitch with current Barca strikers Luis Suárez and Antoine Griezmann.

According to the analysis, Suárez often had success with the midfield, dragging defenders out of their line, swapping places with other players and most importantly, creating space for Messi.

Ideally, Barcelona tipped Griezmann to be the one to take Suárez’s place in the future. However, the Frenchman ended up being more of a Messi instead of a Suárez.

As for Martínez, the analysis concluded that he still spends most of his time inside the box and in the zone 14, which is quite similar to Suárez’s preferred area of operation. Griezmann, on the other hand, has a completely different playing style as he likes to sit deeper and operate through the half-spaces, either left or right, depending on the movement of his wingers and the other striker.

But overall, both Barcelona and Martínez could benefit from each other as the analysis predicts that there won’t be too many overlaps on the pitch. And instead of stepping on each other’s toes, Barca’s forward line could finally start complementing each other with the help of Martínez.

Meanwhile, LaLiga president Javier Tebas recently denied the rumors swirling around that Barcelona is pursuing either Martínez or Neymar.

“It’s not true that Barca are currently in negotiation processes in the signing of these two players,” Tebas told the Adea Conecta (via Goal).

“They are most focused on when the season can resume as opposed to new acquisitions,” he added.