{"id":42555,"date":"2021-08-18T08:10:53","date_gmt":"2021-08-18T07:10:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/?p=42555"},"modified":"2021-08-17T16:37:50","modified_gmt":"2021-08-17T15:37:50","slug":"should-city-turn-their-attention-to-lautaro-martinez","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/should-city-turn-their-attention-to-lautaro-martinez\/","title":{"rendered":"Should City turn their attention to Lautaro Martinez?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Football is in financial trouble and if we are not careful, the damage could be irreversible. These things are often hard to quantify, can take time to become noticeable and have previously been dismissed. But the events of 2021 have laid things bare, and if you are still unconvinced, all you need to do is look at how quickly things are unravelling at Italian champions Inter and the ongoing situation with their star striker, Lautaro Martinez.<\/p>\n

Serie A was lorded over for almost a decade by Juventus. Dethroning them took a gargantuan effort and the sort of money Italian clubs have not been used to spending. Antonio Conte, the man who started Juve\u2019s dynasty, was a huge factor in Inter celebrating a first scudetto since 2010 but it was the signing of Romelu Lukaku for over \u00a374m which made the real difference.<\/p>\n

It was a huge outlay and proved worth it but the perilous position Italian clubs were in was accentuated by the pandemic. It is easy to say that every club has struggled over the past 18 months, but, in reality, the majority have, while a small few have grown stronger.<\/p>\n

There is a divide happening in football now. Big, historic clubs are being left in the dust of the few richest. Lukaku\u2019s \u00a397.5m move to Chelsea, which was confirmed last week, and Inter\u2019s subsequent chase for 35-year-old Edin Dzeko, believed to cost around \u20ac2m, is indicative of that. Speculation was rife that Inter\u2019s situation was so dire that liquidation was a possibility. Thankfully that seems to be unfounded but there is a chance for some clubs to circle and pick off a title-winning squad. Lukaku was just the start.<\/p>\n

His strike partner, Argentine Lautaro Martinez, has been linked with both Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal<\/a> this summer. Playing two up front became worth it for Conte and, although he would most likely be required to perform a different role were he to move to England, he has the skillset to do it. Spurs are reportedly targeting him for \u00a360m, in case they sell Harry Kane to Manchester City for at least double that, whereas Arsenal are seemingly losing patience with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has really struggled to find his best form since signing a new contract at the Emirates Stadium.<\/p>\n

But perhaps City should take a look at his situation. As things stand, they are locked in a game of chess with Daniel Levy over Kane but his reputation for hard negotiation is problematic. Despite standing firm on their maximum price, believed to be around \u00a3130m, they are \u00a330m away from bringing Spurs to the table and there is no alternative. Their focus is on Kane and nobody else, which means something drastic must change if he is to make the move to the Etihad Stadium before the transfer window closes.<\/p>\n

Would an alternative weaken their pursuit of Kane? Arguably but, at the same time, with Lukaku joining Chelsea, Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane in at Manchester United and Virgil van Dijk back fit at Liverpool, this is expected to be the most competitive title race in years. Pep Guardiola will know the arrival of Kane, added to Jack Grealish\u2019s signing, could establish City\u2019s lead over their rivals to unassailable levels but the risk of not signing an adequate replacement for Sergio Ag\u00fcero is obvious.<\/p>\n

Ferran Torres has shown potential in front of goal, and while Gabriel Jesus has proven capable of performing in a City shirt, there isn\u2019t much evidence to suggest he could full the void left by Ag\u00fcero.<\/p>\n

Kane would solve that conundrum and City are believed to like the fact he can drop deep as well as playing inside the opposing box. But Lautaro Martinez may genuinely represent a good option and is almost certainly an easier deal to do. Rather than comparing him to Kane, which is a battle he would almost certainly lose, it would perhaps be more pertinent to compare him to Ag\u00fcero when he joined from Atletico Madrid in 2011, because there are a number of similarities.<\/p>\n

Technically, they are similar, in terms of close control and finishing ability. Martinez\u2019s numbers aren\u2019t groundbreaking but he proved himself a great dovetail for Lukaku over the past two years, scoring 31 goals in two seasons. Ag\u00fcero developed into one of the best strikers in the world and the best in City\u2019s history but at 23, the same age as Lautaro Martinez is now, he was part of a double action, scoring 20 goals in 32 matches in his final season at Atleti. The numbers are similar and their styles are similar. Kane offers Guardiola the finished article, ready to go now, but his age dictates he won\u2019t have the longevity Ag\u00fcero enjoyed.<\/p>\n

Lautaro Martinez is a risk and, in some quarters, an unknown quantity. With the value he offers, around half that of Kane, and Guardiola\u2019s ability to coach and mould players, he may just prove worth it if City lose patience waiting for the England captain.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

You could earn up to \u00a310 (or currency equivalent) in bonus funds by joining Colossus with our New Player Bonus. Click here to join the action.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Football is in financial trouble and if we are not careful, the damage could be irreversible. These things are often hard to quantify, can take time to become noticeable and have previously been dismissed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[643],"tags":[272,76],"class_list":["post-42555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sport","tag-featurehome","tag-premier-league"],"yoast_head":"\nShould City turn their attention to Lautaro Martinez? - Colossus Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The media has been rife with speculation that Man City are chasing Harry Kane but could Lautaro Martinez be a valid alternative?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/should-city-turn-their-attention-to-lautaro-martinez\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Should City turn their attention to Lautaro Martinez?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The media has been rife with speculation that Man City are chasing Harry Kane but could Lautaro Martinez be a valid alternative?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/should-city-turn-their-attention-to-lautaro-martinez\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colossus Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SportsBigger\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-08-18T07:10:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/city-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1102\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"744\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Harry De Cosemo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/harrydecosemo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ColossusBets\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Harry De Cosemo\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/should-city-turn-their-attention-to-lautaro-martinez\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/should-city-turn-their-attention-to-lautaro-martinez\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Harry De Cosemo\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/94dd728157baaf683f9e5ca63e63fecb\"},\"headline\":\"Should City turn their attention to Lautaro Martinez?\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-08-18T07:10:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/should-city-turn-their-attention-to-lautaro-martinez\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":878,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"FeatureHome\",\"Premier League\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2021\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/should-city-turn-their-attention-to-lautaro-martinez\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/should-city-turn-their-attention-to-lautaro-martinez\\\/\",\"name\":\"Should City turn their attention to Lautaro Martinez? - Colossus Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-08-18T07:10:53+00:00\",\"description\":\"The media has been rife with speculation that Man City are chasing Harry Kane but could Lautaro Martinez be a valid alternative?\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/should-city-turn-their-attention-to-lautaro-martinez\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/should-city-turn-their-attention-to-lautaro-martinez\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/should-city-turn-their-attention-to-lautaro-martinez\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Should City turn their attention to Lautaro Martinez?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"Colossus Blog\",\"description\":\"Colossus Blog\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Colossus Bets\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/01\\\/rYeFCrFc_400x400.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/01\\\/rYeFCrFc_400x400.png\",\"width\":400,\"height\":400,\"caption\":\"Colossus Bets\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/SportsBigger\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/ColossusBets\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/colossusbets_\\\/?hl=en\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/colossus-bets\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/ColossusBets\\\/featured\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/94dd728157baaf683f9e5ca63e63fecb\",\"name\":\"Harry De Cosemo\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/42a09f3a53ee707e4c54b6ae3a3e3c04fb3bb1d522819046699fde94983dc9ba?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/42a09f3a53ee707e4c54b6ae3a3e3c04fb3bb1d522819046699fde94983dc9ba?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/42a09f3a53ee707e4c54b6ae3a3e3c04fb3bb1d522819046699fde94983dc9ba?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Harry De Cosemo\"},\"description\":\"A freelance European football journalist who has worked for a variety of outlets including the Press Association, MARCA in English, FourFourTwo and SportsKeeda\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/https:\\\/\\\/twitter.com\\\/harrydecosemo\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.colossusbets.com\\\/blog\\\/author\\\/harrydecosemo\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Should City turn their attention to Lautaro Martinez? - Colossus Blog","description":"The media has been rife with speculation that Man City are chasing Harry Kane but could Lautaro Martinez be a valid alternative?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/should-city-turn-their-attention-to-lautaro-martinez\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Should City turn their attention to Lautaro Martinez?","og_description":"The media has been rife with speculation that Man City are chasing Harry Kane but could Lautaro Martinez be a valid alternative?","og_url":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/should-city-turn-their-attention-to-lautaro-martinez\/","og_site_name":"Colossus Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SportsBigger\/","article_published_time":"2021-08-18T07:10:53+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1102,"height":744,"url":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/city-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Harry De Cosemo","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/harrydecosemo","twitter_site":"@ColossusBets","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Harry De Cosemo","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/should-city-turn-their-attention-to-lautaro-martinez\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/should-city-turn-their-attention-to-lautaro-martinez\/"},"author":{"name":"Harry De Cosemo","@id":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/94dd728157baaf683f9e5ca63e63fecb"},"headline":"Should City turn their attention to Lautaro Martinez?","datePublished":"2021-08-18T07:10:53+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/should-city-turn-their-attention-to-lautaro-martinez\/"},"wordCount":878,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["FeatureHome","Premier League"],"articleSection":["Sport"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2021","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/should-city-turn-their-attention-to-lautaro-martinez\/","url":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/should-city-turn-their-attention-to-lautaro-martinez\/","name":"Should City turn their attention to Lautaro Martinez? - Colossus Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-08-18T07:10:53+00:00","description":"The media has been rife with speculation that Man City are chasing Harry Kane but could Lautaro Martinez be a valid alternative?","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/should-city-turn-their-attention-to-lautaro-martinez\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/should-city-turn-their-attention-to-lautaro-martinez\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/should-city-turn-their-attention-to-lautaro-martinez\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Should City turn their attention to Lautaro Martinez?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/","name":"Colossus Blog","description":"Colossus Blog","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Colossus Bets","url":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/rYeFCrFc_400x400.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/rYeFCrFc_400x400.png","width":400,"height":400,"caption":"Colossus Bets"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SportsBigger\/","https:\/\/x.com\/ColossusBets","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/colossusbets_\/?hl=en","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/colossus-bets\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/ColossusBets\/featured"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/94dd728157baaf683f9e5ca63e63fecb","name":"Harry De Cosemo","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/42a09f3a53ee707e4c54b6ae3a3e3c04fb3bb1d522819046699fde94983dc9ba?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/42a09f3a53ee707e4c54b6ae3a3e3c04fb3bb1d522819046699fde94983dc9ba?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/42a09f3a53ee707e4c54b6ae3a3e3c04fb3bb1d522819046699fde94983dc9ba?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Harry De Cosemo"},"description":"A freelance European football journalist who has worked for a variety of outlets including the Press Association, MARCA in English, FourFourTwo and SportsKeeda","sameAs":["https:\/\/x.com\/https:\/\/twitter.com\/harrydecosemo"],"url":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/author\/harrydecosemo\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42555"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42555\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42645,"href":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42555\/revisions\/42645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colossusbets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}