After being reluctant to get drawn into a bidding war, Manchester United have missed out on signing Darwin Nunez this summer. The centre-forward is set to join Liverpool and could have his medical today, which means United's search for a striker continues.
Cristiano Ronaldo, 37, is the only recognised centre-forward at the club and he's very much in the winter of his career. United will surely sign a new striker in the coming months, but they might have to get creative in the market after watching Nunez make the move to Anfield. United will need to identify Nunez alternatives and a player that could perfectly fit that billing is Lautaro Martinez.
Martinez has just enjoyed the most prolific season of his career to date with Inter Milan. The forward scored 24 goals 49 appearances across all competitions in Italy and he's been linked with a return with his former manager Antoine Conte at Tottenham.
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Martinez has scored 24, 19 and 21 goals across his last three seasons for Inter Milan and that makes him one of Europe's most consistent strikers. The 24-year-old has gone from strength to strength during that period and his development seemed to be accelerated by playing under Conte. The Italian won the Scudetto with Inter in 2020/21 before leaving the club.
There's no doubt Conte has played a key role in Martinez's development, as the player explained earlier this season. “What has changed in my game? I’m more comfortable on the field. With last year’s coach, I learned a lot," Martinez told reporters.
"He made me grow in a different way on the game, on the tactics and also physically. For this, I thank him.”
Martinez's relationship with Conte was interesting to follow. The Argentine was once furious after being subbed by Conte, for example, and the pair decided to settle the dispute by staging a boxing match. Martinez clearly doesn't lack bravery.
Considering the relationship between Conte and Martinez, reports linking him to Tottenham on the back of his best season in front of goal to date seem a little too convenient, Tottenham really don't need a player like Martinez but United certainly do.
Martinez could be a shrewd alternative to Nunez. It has been suggested that Inter would be open to selling Martinez for the right price and a fee of £60m has been touted. That currently seems the going rate for young elite centre-forwards in Europe.
That fee also seems a fair valuation after Martinez's impressive season. Martinez scored against Liverpool in the Champions League and he proved that he's got the quality to threaten an elite Premier League side that night — his goal won the game for Inter.
Although Martinez is inferior to Nunez on most key attacking metrics, the difference between the pair is marginal and it's also fair to argue that the latter has had easier opposition to contend against, with Serie A a superior league compared to the standard of the Primeira Liga.
Erik ten Hag wants to turn United into a pressing side and Martinez would be comfortable with that approach. He brings high energy into matches and his defensive statistics are better than Nunez's, which probably isn't a surprise after working with Conte.
Conte made Martinez a better player and United should consider taking advantage of that with Nunez off the market.
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