Barcelona believe they will beat Manchester giants City and United to Argentine ace Lautaro Martinez.
City boss Pep Guardiola has identified the Inter Milan striker has a possible replacement for Sergio Aguero, while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes the 22-year-old can be the free-scoring forward that he wants to bring to United ahead of next season.
But Barca have been tracking Martinez since he was a teenager coming through the ranks at Avellaneda-based Racing – and are prepared to trigger his £102.5million buy-out clause to land him.
Martinez is seen by the Catalan giants as the perfect replacement for Luis Suarez.
They are ready to listen to offers for the Uruguayan and his former Liverpool team-mate Philippe Coutinho in a bid to raise the cash to buy Martinez.
Inter insist they want to keep a player who has broken into Argentina’s national team.
Sporting director Javier Zanetti said: “I see Lautaro with a big future in Italian football.
“We are happy with him and he is happy at Inter. What he is doing this season is fantastic.”
Inter to target Aubameyang if Martinez leaves
If Martinez does leave, however, Inter could swoop for Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, writes Darren Wells .
Gazzetta dello Sport report Inter are poised to battle it out with United for Aubameyang's signature in the event that Martinez exits the club.
Arsenal value their captain at around £50million, but know they are in no position to play hardball with his contract winding down.
United remain hopeful of prising the Gabonese international away for £35m, but Arsenal would not want to sell to a direct rival.
Interest from Inter could be a more palatable alternative for the Gunners, as the Nerrazurri also consider reigniting a move for Chelsea's Olivier Giroud.
Giroud is available on a free in the summer and will likely complete the switch to Italy at the end of his Chelsea contract.
