Manchester City Identify $124M Barca Target As Long-Term Replacement For Aguero: Report

Manchester City are reportedly planning to hijack Inter Milan forward Lautaro Martinez, who has been one of Barcelona’s top targets ahead of the summer transfer window.

Having overturned their two-year European ban, Man City will now have no issues in signing big players, who otherwise would not have agreed to join the club. With the transfer window due to open in less than a fortnight, Pep Guardiola’s side has identified Martinez as a long-term replacement for Man City’s all-time leading goal scorer Sergio Aguero, according to a report in Sky Sports.

Ahead of the upcoming transfer market, Barcelona have labeled Martinez and Neymar as their top targets. Barca captain Lionel Messi has been pushing the club to sign his fellow Argentina teammate, Martinez, whose release clause is not cheap.

It is widely known that Barcelona are undergoing an economic crisis and the coronavirus pandemic has further worsened their situation financially. The Sky Sports report has also mentioned that Man City are currently in a better position to pay Martinez’s release clause of $124 million at Inter Milan than Barcelona.

Martinez, who has scored 18 goals in 39 competitive matches this season for Inter Milan, has refused to extend his contract with the San Siro side. The 22-year-old striker, who joined Inter Milan ahead of the 2018-19 season, has massively improved since his debut season, where he had scored only nine goals in 35 appearances.

Meanwhile, even at 32, Aguero continues to remain Man City’s best player as he scored 23 goals in 32 matches across all tournaments before he was sidelined for the remainder of the current season after getting injured during Man City’s 5-0 win over Burnley. He immediately flew to Barcelona to undergo surgery to return in time for Man City’s Champions League match against Real Madrid, which is scheduled to be played in August.

Aguero, who moved from Atletico Madrid to Man City in the summer of 2011, has played a significant role in Man City’s success over the last few years. His historical goal in the last kick of the 2011-12 season had handed the Etihad side their first league title since 1968, which was also their maiden Premier League trophy. Following the memorable title win in the 2011-12 campaign, Man City have gone on to clinch three more Premier League trophies (2013-14, 2017-18, and 2018-19), where Aguero scored 28, 30, and 32 goals in total across all competitions.