Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur could battle it out for the signature of Inter Milan forward Lautaro Martinez for the remainder of the month.
football.london reported at the weekend that Spurs have agreed a fee of more than €60million (£50m) with Inter for the Argentina international, but there are complications in completing the deal due to the imminent Romelu Lukaku move to Chelsea.
Lukaku is expected to become a Blues player again in the coming days and the Serie A champions are understandably reluctant to lose two of their star forward players in the same transfer window.
Arsenal have also been credited with an interest in Martinez, but as it stands, it seems Tottenham are the club in the driving seat for the 23-year-old.
But if the Gunners did make an official move for Martinez, then it remains to be seen what his decision would be.
However, according to South American football expert Tim Vickery, Spurs hold a trump card in their pursuit of Martinez - in the form of Giovani Lo Celso.
Lo Celso, 25, is Martinez's team-mate at international level for Argentina, and Vickery thinks this, along with the talent of the midfielder, could lure the Inter attacker to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium rather than the Emirates.
“He’s a very fine player, he almost reminds me of a hammerhead shark,” Vickery told talkSPORT.
“It might be the shape of his head but it might be that there’s always this air of menace about him. Very, very classy striker indeed and it looks like there’s a tug of war between Arsenal and Tottenham.
“It could well be, especially with the existence in the side of Lo Celso, it might tip the balance in Tottenham’s way. Lo Celso seems to be constantly questioned at Tottenham, he’s been unlucky with injuries.
“He had a great Copa America, his little partnership with [Lionel] Messi was wonderful and he’s a great supply line.
“So it could be that his presence in the Tottenham line-up just might make Lautaro Martinez feel that if he does go there he’s got someone making the bullets for him to fire.”
So far this summer, Arsenal have signed three players for a combined total of around £75m, but are still looking to complete more business before the window closes at the end of the month.
James Maddison is the club's top target as a creative midfielder, while Aaron Ramsdale is the Gunners' priority as a back-up goalkeeper.
Meanwhile, across north London, Spurs have also signed three players - Pierluigi Gollini, Bryan Gil and Cristian Romero - but are continuing to be linked with more players.
Fabio Paratici is said to be a huge admirer of Martinez and will be determined to make this statement signing in his first summer at Tottenham.
