Tottenham to return for Lautaro Martinez after ‘failing in £80m bid last summer’ but face transfer battle with Arsenal

TOTTENHAM could reignite their pursuit of Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez in the summer, according to reports.

The Lilywhites were one of several clubs interested in bringing him in prior to the 2021/22 campaign.

This was because Spurs bosses feared Harry Kane would be leaving following Manchester City's constant pursuit of the England captain.

And Martinez was identified as a potential replacement by not just Tottenham but also north London rivals Arsenal.

Atletico Madrid were also thought to be interest in the 24-year-old Argentine.

But it was Spurs who ended up tabling a bid for the forward.

It consisted of a transfer fee in the region of £70million plus around £10m in bonuses.

However, both the player and club dismissed the offer out of hand.

And since then Martinez has signed a new deal with Inter to keep him at the club until 2026.

Yet despite pledging his future to the Serie A champions, insist it is 'easy to imagine that top clubs come back in for him'.

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While he has struggled to find the back of the net in recent months, the report also insists he ‘remains a top striker and is therefore guaranteed to have clubs willing to invest in him’.

And Spurs could be the frontrunners to land his signature - particularly if Kane leaves at the end of the season.

Martinez has failed to score in eight of Inter's nine Serie A games in 2022.

But he did recently return to form with a hat-trick in a 5-0 win over Salernitana.

His overall stats since arriving at Inter currently stand at 65 goals in 170 appearances.