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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Sport
Mark Jones

Barcelona ready with 'final offer' for Luis Suarez's attacking replacement

Barcelona are reportedly pushing on with their preparations for life without Luis Suarez, with the Uruguayan having been told to leave the club by new manager Ronald Koeman.

Suarez has scored 198 goals in 283 appearances for Barca since his 2014 move from Liverpool, but he is being deemed as surplus to requirements by the former Southampton and Everton boss.

The Uruguayan still has one year left on his contract, but Barca are hoping to get him off the wage the bill as they seek to make savings across the board in 2020/21.

Having now secured the immediate future of Suarez's great friend Lionel Messi, Barca are looking to reduce the average age of the squad as they get some of their longest serving players off the books.

Suarez has been told the leave the club (Alejandro Garcia/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

Ivan Rakitic has already rejoined former club Sevilla, and Suarez, 33, is expected to move to Italian giants Juventus once issues around his £12.5million-a-year contract are resolved.

In his place could come the Inter Milan forward Lautaro Martinez, with Goal.com reporting that Barca are preparing a final offer for the 23-year-old Argentinean.

Martinez would not command anywhere near the same amount of wages as Suarez, with his youth and nationality also seen as positives as the club hope he can forge a link-up with Messi.

Martinez is being lined up by Barca (Sascha Steinbach/POOL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

The former Racing Club forward scored 21 goals in 49 appearances for Inter in their 2019/20 season, which ended in a Europa League final defeat to Sevilla.

Although Suarez is edging closer to Juve, there remains the possibility that the details of his exit cannot be agreed and he simply sits in the stands for the coming campaign.

However the forward is in the process of applying for an Italian passport to help smooth his registration in Turin.

Would Martinez be a good signing for Barca? Have your say in the comments below

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