Barcelona are confident they can sign Inter striker Lautaro Martinez this summer by including wing-back Junior Firpo in the deal.
That is according to the front page of Friday’s edition of El Mundo Deportivo, which claims that the Blaugrana believe the player is valued at €41m, meaning there will be a significant reduction in the fee required to land the Argentine striker.
Martinez has a €111m release clause at the Milanese giants and is Barcelona’s number one transfer target this summer, but they can not match the clause and must include players in the deal to make any move possible.
Ivan Rakitic, Arturo Vidal, Nelson Semedo and Jean-Clair Todibo are among the other Blaugrana players who have previously been linked with a move to the Nerazzurri, but player swap deals are notoriously tricky to arrange due to the added layer of negotiations.
Firpo has appeared in 16 matches for the Catalan giants this campaign but remains very much the understudy to long-term left back Jordi Alba at the club.
The Dominican-born player failed to convince Ernesto Valverde nor his successor Quique Setien – who managed him at Betis – that he was worthy of a regular first-team slot.
Left wing-back Firpo only joined the Blaugrana from Real Betis last summer but a recent report in Diario Sport suggests he could be allowed to leave this year.
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