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Football London
Football London
Sport
Aaron Catterson-Reid

Arsenal can avoid handing Chelsea £33.5m transfer boost with Lautaro Martinez move

Arsenal are in desperate need of a top-quality striker after allowing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to leave the club last month.

The north London outfit are now short upfront, with Eddie Nketiah and Alexandre Lacazette their only options for the remainder of the campaign and both frontmen are also into the final five months of their contracts at the Emirates Stadium.

football.london understands that the Gunners are monitoring Chelsea loanee Armando Broja ahead of the summer, with head coach Mikel Arteta a huge admirer of the young Albanian.

The 20-year-old is currently on loan at Southampton from the Blues and has enjoyed a productive campaign for Ralph Hasenhuttl's side this season, bagging eight goals and two assists whilst also showcasing his ability to hold the ball up to a level much greater than the majority of strikers his age.

However, the Blues are likely to demand a premium price for their youngster, who CIES Football Observatory value at €40million (£33.6 million), money that Arsenal may not want to give to a direct rival.

In fact, the better option could be to go for Inter Milan star Lautaro Martinez, who could leave the San Siro this summer, according to some reports in Italy.

Martinez has netted 11 times in Serie A this season and was heavily linked with a move to north London during the summer after enjoying an extremely fruitful 2020/21 campaign as he helped the Nerazzurri to their first Serie A title in over a decade.

Considering the Argentine international is much more experienced at the top level, compared to the likes of Broja, it may make sense for technical director Edu to pursue a deal for his services instead of the Chelsea starlet this summer.

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