Tottenham: 'Complete' £70m target 'played his best football under Conte' | OneFootball

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GiveMeSport

·27 June 2022

Tottenham: 'Complete' £70m target 'played his best football under Conte'

Article image:Tottenham: 'Complete' £70m target 'played his best football under Conte'

Tottenham Hotspur target Lautauro Martinez ‘played his best football’ under the tutelage of Antonio Conte, according to Italian football expert Conor Clancy.

Spurs have already been active in the transfer market, bringing in Ivan Perisic, Fraser Forster and Yves Bissouma with several more fresh faces expected to follow in their footsteps.


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Signing a back-up striker for Harry Kane is widely expected to be on Antonio Conte’s to-do list with the return of Champions League football only heightening the need for extra options in that area of the pitch.

Last summer, The Times claimed that Tottenham had agreed a £60 million deal with Inter Milan for Martinez before they pulled the plug.

It’s claimed the Nerazzurri were determined not to lose both Romelu Lukaku and the Argentina international in the same transfer window following the former’s switch to Chelsea.

Article image:Tottenham: 'Complete' £70m target 'played his best football under Conte'

However, with Lukaku now set to return to San Siro, it could be Martinez’s time to seek pastures new, and The Times have now claimed that the South American could be available for £70m, while Paul Brown previously informed GiveMeSport that Spurs ‘would love’ to sign him.

The 24-year-old put pen to paper on a new five-year contract in October 2021, but with Inter’s financial woes continuing to hang over the club, an exit could still be on the cards.

What has Clancy said about Martinez?

Clancy believes there aren’t many more ‘complete forwards in Europe’ than Martinez when he is at his best, although his inconsistency ‘can be frustrating’.

He told GiveMeSport: “On his day, I don’t think there are many better and more complete forwards in Europe than him, but he’s just a little bit inconsistent.

“Like the way he falls off and disappears for a couple of months at a time can be frustrating, but he played his best football under Conte.”

Is Martinez a realistic target?

During his time with Conte, Martinez found the back of the net on 40 occasions, providing a further 19 assists in 97 appearances as they claimed the Serie A title.

Therefore, the diminutive attacker may be tempted by a reunion with his former mentor, although the possibility of playing back-up to Kane is perhaps something that he will not find particularly appealing.

Conte has almost exclusively lined up in a 3-4-3 formation since arriving at Hotspur Way back in November, only allowing for one striker to be in the starting XI.

And although Tottenham’s congested fixture list will require Conte to rotate his side, it’s unlikely that Martinez will settle for playing second-fiddle at this stage in his career.

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