Lautaro Martinez
The newest addition (and The Athletic’s contribution to this list) to Chelsea’s wishlist is Inter Milan forward Lautaro Martinez. Martinez has been one of the most talked about transfer targets amongst European giants for the last few seasons following his breakthrough onto the scene in Italy. The former Racing Club youth star has made quite a name for himself recently as he’s become one of Serie A’s most best goalscorers.
The 24-year-old is a high risk, high reward prospect though. The Argentine international is seen as the natural successor to Sergio Aguero. He’s short (5-foot-9), pacey and he has the technical skills in front of goal necessary to compete with the best of them. Martinez has excelled at Inter Milan playing essentially as a second striker in every season though. He first showed up on the radar of other big clubs when his contributions helped Antonio Conte’s Inter Milan team win the Scudetto for the first time in 11 years back in 2020/21.
There are questions about whether or not he could lean a line by himself, but if there was any manager that could utilize his untraditional skillset as a lone striker, it’s Tuchel. The German has succeeded throughout his managerial career most when he has versatile forwards, the best examples being Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at Dortmund and Kylian Mbappe at Paris Saint-Germain. If the gaffer is convinced Martinez is needed to turn this ship around, don’t be surprised to see the Blues inquire about the £60 million man.
It’s no secret that Martinez is at his best when partnered with a more traditional No. 9 though. Luckily for Chelsea, it already has the more expensive half of the legendary Inter Milan title-winning strike partnership in its ranks. The Blues split up the duo of Lukaku and Martinez last summer when they forked over a club record fee to bring the Belgian back to the Bridge. Thus, if they were planning on keeping him around, a move for Martinez would make a lot of sense.
Martinez’s numbers speak for themselves though. He’s managed 21, 19 and 25 goals in all competitions over the last three seasons, including 21 goals and three assists in Serie A this year. Inter seems to have dug itself out of the financial hole it was in last season—a £97.5 million sale will tend to relieve some of the pressure—so it’s in no rush to offload Martinez. Therefore, any move for the Argentine would be a hefty financial commitment for yet another forward in the summer, the Blues’ third such move in as many seasons.