Manchester City are interested in acquiring Inter Milan forward Lautaro Martinez. Following the summer departure of Sergio Agüero to Barcelona, the Premier League champions have been left without an out-and-out striker to spearhead their attack.
Martinez, 24, has been a prolific goal scorer for both the country and club. The striker has netted the ball on 16 occasions and also provided two assists in 39 appearances for Inter in Serie A this season. The 24-year-old could be a valuable addition to the Manchester City ranks, considering his pace, heading, and finishing abilities. His explosive pace combined with his finishing makes him a great fit for the Premier League.
Lautaro has proven himself as both a striker and a number 10. He also has the intelligence to position himself correctly and to identify when to counterattack. He positions himself away from those defenders until reaching the final third, at which point he draws one to create a defensive imbalance and then attacks the spaces he has created. From the above visual, we can see Lautaro does not play as an out-and-out striker, as he prefers falling deep near the edge of the final third.
His dribbling abilities help him advance beyond opposition defenses, and his pressing forces those defenses to play wide. Martinez has only scored one goal in the Champions League, and his team was knocked out of the tournament by Liverpool in the Round-of-16. He has attempted 4.030 shots per 90 minutes and has averaged 5.52 touches in the opposition’s penalty area. Martinez has also been able to complete 40% of the attacking actions he has attempted inside the final third.
Martínez is a versatile striker and can change his type of play depending on how the opposition will defend. He is very unpredictable inside the box and also possesses a great shooting technique. Martínez is an ambidextrous striker, which means that he can shoot the ball with both his feet. This increases the unpredictability of his shot, causing defenders to focus on cutting out both angles for him to shoot with. The above visual indicates that most of his shots have been from outside the six-yard box and has had 30% of his shots on target. Martínez boasts fantastic off-the-ball movement, which allows him to exploit empty spaces, put himself into prime scoring positions, and create space for other teammates to exploit.
Aside from his finishing ability, Martínez has excellent vision and a sense of creativity that is rare in many centre-forwards. When linking up with his teammates, the Argentine keeps the ball moving by playing one-touch passes to alter the direction of the ball ever so slightly. Pep always looks for such attributes in his striker and wants his striker to be involved in the build-up towards the goal. His pass map indicates that most of his passes are short one-touch passes, and he also moves into deeper positions to receive the ball.
Manchester City’s top priority Erling Haaland’s future is still in unknown territory. With the Dortmund striker eyeing a move to LaLiga, it makes sense for the defending champions to have a plan B in the form of Lautaro Martinez. Because of Martnez’s skill set and playing style, a move for the more experienced and versatile Argentine may suit City’s needs better than any other striker on the market.
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