Tottenham Transfer News: Spurs made "official proposal" for £77.3m star this summer | OneFootball

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that Tottenham were seriously interested in signing Inter Milan forward Lautaro Martinez in the recent transfer window.

Who was Martinez linked with this summer?

The 24-year-old attracted interest from a number of major European clubs this summer, with Arsenal and Atletico Madrid also monitoring his situation at Inter.

TottenhamMartinez over to the Premier League.

What has Romano said about Spurs' interest in Martinez?

Speaking on the latest episode of The Here We Go Podcast, Romano outlined how Spurs submitted an "official proposal" to sign Martinez, but Inter refused to sell him, and the player wanted to remain with the Serie A club.

“The official proposal was from Tottenham. Also, Atletico Madrid made a proposal, but Tottenham made a proposal for €70m plus €20m add-ons to arrive at €90m (£77.3m) total for Lautaro Martinez. That is the price-tag that Inter were asking for Lautaro Martinez.

“Inter were absolutely not prepared to sell Lautaro Martinez because this proposal from Tottenham was after they sold Romelu Lukaku to Chelsea for €115m (£98.8m). They also sold Achraf Hakimi so they were not needing money, and they decided to keep Lautaro Martinez. But, from what I’m told, also Lautaro Martinez wanted to stay.

“He was not so tempted because he wants to play Champions League football. So he was talking with Tottenham but it is not something agreed on personal terms or these sorts of things. Tottenham were really trying for Lautaro Martinez this summer, not as Kane’s replacement but as a potential back-up or to play together with Harry Kane because they were convinced that they had chances to play together.”

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Is missing out on Martinez a big blow for Spurs?

It is disappointing for Tottenham that they were unable to get this deal over the line.

By missing out on Martinez, it now seems that they are going to be heavily reliant on Harry Kane staying fit throughout the season, something which is not guaranteed given his long-standing issue with ankle injuries.

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Tottenham's only other recognised striker at the moment is Dane Scarlett, so they are putting a lot of pressure on a 17-year-old to fill in for Kane from time to time.

Martinez has flourished alongside Romelu Lukaku in the last two full seasons, scoring 31 league goals during this period, and he could have formed a mouthwatering partnership with Kane at Spurs.

They could not convince him to move to north London, though, meaning that once again, Tottenham look to be short on options up top to support the England captain.