Spanish League giants Barcelona appear to have reached personal agreement with Inter Milan attacker Lautaro Martinez ahead of a summer move.
The Argentine star has been on the Catalans radar all season long as a long term replacement for aging Luis Suarez.
However, his move to Camp Nou will see him earn about £205,000-a-week once it is completed but his Italian League club is not ready to allow him leave for anything below his £98 million release clause.
According to Daily Mail, the 22-year-old seems to have told the Serie A side he wants to join the La Liga outfit this summer.
Despite failing to come to a consensus with the Italian side over his transfer fee, Spanish outlet Sport believes the player has agreed to join the club on a five-year deal worth £10.5 million a year plus other related bonuses.
With the look of things, Barcelona may not be buoyant enough to the forward's valuation by his current club which is expected to be paid all at once.
The outbreak of coronavirus pandemic has affected every aspect of the global economy having stopped football activities since middle of March.
"The reality of the situation with Martinez is that there's only one path to take him away from Inter and that is to pay the release clause," Inter Milan's sporting director Piero Ausilio told Sky Sport Italia.
"It's a clause everyone knows about, there's no point hiding. It is a difficult clause because it has certain deadlines and some very precise demands.
"First and foremost, the clause expires in early July, so does not last very long. It's the only possible way right now that we won't see Lautaro Martinez at Inter next season.
"We are not discussing the Lautaro issue with anyone, because quite simply we are relying on him, he is an important asset for the club and let us not forget he still has two years left on his contract with Inter.
"We don't have any intention of selling our best players, but rather to reinforce ourselves on the market."
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