Barcelona Transfer News: Blaugrana have a big advantage over Real Madrid in their pursuit of Lautaro Martinez

Barcelona have a clear advantage over Real Madrid in their pursuit of Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez, AS reports. The Argentinean is one of the most sought after strikers in the world right now and has been in fine form for the Nerazzurri this season. Martinez has scored 16 goals from 28 appearances this season for Inter and also impressed during the Champions League clash with the Catalans.

The Argentinean reportedly has his admirers in the Camp Nou and Barcelona have been considering a move for Martinez for quite some time. His release clause will be €111 million in the summer, but that might not deter the Spanish giants, who consider the Argentinean as the ideal successor to Luis Suarez.

However, as is the case with talented young players, Martinez is not short of suitors and is also being monitored by Real Madrid among others. Former Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni has mentioned that after Lionel Messi, Martinez is the player everyone wants in their team at the moment. And while it would appear that the Catalans would face severe competition from Los Blancos for the player, Barcelona do have a huge advantage over Zinedine Zidane’s side at the moment

Real Madrid do not have space in their squad for another non-EU player

According to the rule in Spain, clubs are only allowed to registered 3 non-European players in their squad. And this could be a thorn in the path of Real Madrid in their quest for Martinez. The Spanish giants already have 3 non-EU players in their squad – Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Eder Militao. In addition, Reinier is also preparing to be integrated into the first team, even though he is currently registered with the youth team.

All these players are under 22-years old, which means that there’s very little chance that Los Blancos will be offloading them to make way for Martinez. Another non-EU player, Japanese sensation Takefusa Kubo, is currently on loan at Mallorca, which puts Madrid in a tight spot unless one of the players secures dual citizenship, something Vinicius is in line for. This is where Barcelona could steal a march on their rivals.

The Catalans have only 2 non-European players in the squad, Arturo Vidal and Arthur Melo, which means that there’s room for another addition in the squad. While Arthur is an important member of the squad, the Chilean could be on his way out in the summer, with Inter interested in his services. That would suit Barcelona just fine in their pursuit of Martinez.