Owen Hargreaves was seriously impressed last night by the Champions League display from Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez, who’s been linked as a Chelsea transfer target.
Inter booked their spot in this season’s Champions League final by dispatching rivals AC Milan 3-0 on aggregate across the two-legged semi-final.
Lautaro Martinez, who’s now scored 25 goals across all competitions this campaign, netted during Inter’s 1-0 win over AC Milan in Tuesday night’s second leg.
The 25-year-old forward is now growing into a real talisman at club level at the San Siro. He’s a World Cup winner after Argentina’s success last winter, too.
BT Sport pundit Hargreaves was blown away by Inter’s centre-forward in midweek.
Interestingly, he compared Martinez with former Premier League striker Carlos Tevez, who’s one of the most aggressive and exciting forwards to play in England during the past couple of decades.
“He’s (Martinez) a fabulous player. The way he leads the line reminds me a bit of Carlos Tevez. How aggressive he is, but he’s got a great touch, always running forward,” Hargreaves told BT Sport 1 (9:35pm, 16 May).
He later added (9:45pm): “Martinez has been fantastic. What a fabulous player! He can press, is a good finisher, and has good link-up play. He literally gives you everything you need from a centre-forward.”
We can definitely see plenty of similarities between Martinez and fellow Argentine Tevez.
According to the Daily Mail last week, Chelsea are most likely to target Martinez this summer when they search to find a new striker.
The Inter frontman is enjoying most of his success operating as part of a two-man attack. We’re not convinced that is something he could replicate at Stamford Bridge if he does end up joining Chelsea.