Tottenham and Arsenal have been dealt a blow in their pursuit of Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez.
The Gunners were credited with an interest in the Argentine last month as The Athletic reported that they were keen on signing the forward if French international Alexandre Lacazette departed this summer.
Still, it was their north London rivals Spurs who appeared to be in the driving seat to land the 23-year-old, with football.london reporting on Sunday afternoon that the Lilywhites had agreed on a fee for Martinez earlier in the week, albeit that any deal could hinge on Romelu Lukaku's future with the Belgian striker strongly linked with a return to Chelsea.
The Nerazzurri are reported to be in the midst of financial difficulties and Tottenham's footballing director Fabio Paratici had seemingly pounced on the opportunity and agreed on a fee of over €60million (£50.9million) with the reigning Serie A champions.
However, any transfer has been handed a significant setback after Martinez's agent Alejandro Camano claimed that his client is happy at the San Siro, despite interest from a host of Europe's elite.
“Lautaro is an Inter player and is happy in Italy. The renewal? Lautaro is from Inter, he will never enter into conflict with the club. Never, this is reality," Camano told FCInter1908.
He then reaffirmed this stance, stating that the Argentina international would be staying with Simone Inzaghi's side next term.
"Lautaro Martinez is happy at Inter and in Italy. His decision is to stay. The relationship with Inter is perfect. Lautaro Martinez is calm. Yes, it is true that there were offers, but today he is fine and we will sit down to talk about the future.”
Calciomercato also quizzed Camano, who told them: “As I’ve always told you, Lautaro is happy at Inter!!! May the Inter fans stay calm."
Camano's comments are likely to come as a big blow to the two north London clubs given Martinez notched an impressive 17 goals and six assists in the Serie A last term.
