Lautaro Martinez has decided to stay at Inter Milan amid interest from Tottenham, according to his agent.
Spurs have been heavily linked with the Argentina forward in recent days, with reports over the weekend suggesting they had agreed a deal for his services worth £60million as they bid to provide a high-profile strike partner - rather than replacement - for wantaway England captain Harry Kane, who continues to be pursued by Manchester City.
Standard Sport understands that Tottenham do admire the 23-year-old, though suggestions that a fee has been agreed were rebuffed.
Arsenal have also been mentioned in connection with a move for Lautaro this summer, with both north London clubs hoping to provide a boost in firepower and reigning Serie A champions Inter feeling the cost of the coronavirus pandemic, with striker Romelu Lukaku set to return to Chelsea in a deal worth £97m and wing-back Achraf Hakimi having already joined Paris Saint-Germain for an initial £51.3m.
Lautaro’s exit would be another huge blow for the Nerazzurri, with the player having netted 19 goals during a successful 2020/21 campaign under Antonio Conte - who left the club by mutual consent in May, replaced by Simone Inzaghi - and 49 in total since joining from Argentine outfit Racing in 2017.
However, agent Alejandro Camano insists his client - who also notched three times during Argentina’s run to Copa America glory this summer - is happy to stay in Italy.
“He’s never going to fight with Inter to leave the club,” he told FCInter1908, per Football Italia.
“Never. Lautaro is an Inter player and he’s happy in Italy.”
Camano also told reporter Cesar Luis Merlo: “Lautaro is happy at Inter and in Italy. His decision is to stay.”
Roma’s Edin Dzeko and Atalanta’s Duvan Zapata have both been linked with Inter as potential replacements for Lautaro and Lukaku, along with Manchester United forward Anthony Martial.
