Barcelona have been urged to beat Manchester City and Chelsea to the signing of Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez by former manager Juan Antonio Pizzi. Martinez has been hailed as the ideal centre-forward for Barca.

Martinez looks set to leave Inter Milan this summer.

The Argentine forward has a release clause of £92million, which is expected to be triggered early in the transfer window.

Barcelona have been after the Inter star for some time, and were heavily linked during the January window.

Now, however, they aren’t the only club interested in him.

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Chelsea, City and Real Madrid are all said to be looking at the 22-year-old.

Martinez has bagged 12 goals in 22 Serie A games this season in what looks to be his final campaign in Italy.

He has been viewed as Barca’s heir to Luis Suarez and long-term leading striker, but has also been touted to replace Sergio Aguero at the Etihad.

But former Barcelona boss Pizzi has explained that he believes the Argentinean ace has all the qualities needed to be a standout star at the Nou Camp.

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“He is the prototypical example of how the position of centre-forward has changed in the modern game. I see a lot of Sergio Aguero in him,” he said.

“Lautaro has already demonstrated the qualities he has in Argentina with Racing and the national team.

“I think he is the ideal player; the style he has as a player is the one which best suits Barcelona.

“He also has an advantage in that he has performed at a very high level in the Italian league, which for me is one of the most competitive in the world.

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“Any footballer who excels in Serie A is able to do so anywhere.”

Meanwhile, Inter legend Javier Zanetti has insisted he believes Martinez will stay at the club.

“At Inter I see him happy, he identifies with the club,” Zanetti said. “We believed in him. I see his future at Inter.

“But right now we’re not talking about the transfer market, the most important thing is health. Then we’ll have time to think about it.”

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