Tottenham are being linked with a £77million move for Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez. But we've been here before.
Less than a year ago, Spurs agreed a fee with the Italian giants, believed to be in the region of £60million, to sign the Argentinian. And now, here we are again, a year later, and seemingly £17million more expensive too.
Spurs have been in need for another striker for a number of years now, with the pressure heavily weighted on Harry Kane's shoulders. Martinez's record suggests he would be an astute, if expensive, signing, having scored 21 goals in 35 Serie A appearances last season.
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That was on top of the 17 he notched in 38 games the previous season, with the lesser number made up somewhat by the impressive 10 assists he contributed.
A transfer this summer would seem unlikely, with Martinez thought to be keen on staying in Italy with the Nerazzurri. However, Inter are being linked with a move to bring Romelu Lukaku back to the club, on loan from Chelsea for a big loan fee, and could deem it necessary to cash in on Martinez to potentially make fund available to push through a permanent deal for Lukaku's return next summer.
And it was Lukaku that seemingly stopped the Martinez's Tottenham deal coming to fruition last year. Spurs agreed the £60million fee with Inter before Chelsea agreed a £97.5million deal to sign Lukaku. And Inter were reluctant to let both of their strikers leave, despite their financial difficulties.
The Tottenham plan, were they to have signed Martinez, was to play him alongside Harry Kane. Nuno Espirito Santo was the manager then, but he has since been replaced by Antonio Conte, who managed Martinez at Inter Milan and is a huge fan of the Argentinian.
Italian journalist Alfredo Pedulla has said Conte is "crazy" about Martinez, but that Martinez wants to stay at Inter. The Italian side decided not to part with Martinez last year, once they secured £97.5million for Lukaku from Chelsea, but if Lukaku were to return to the San Siro, Tottenham could yet get a deal done a year after planning it.
