Barcelona 'close to admitting defeat in Lautaro Martinez chase'

Barcelona reportedly expect to miss out on signing Inter Milan forward Lautaro Martinez during the summer transfer window.

While the Argentina international is a long-time target for the Catalan giants, the financial implications of the coronavirus pandemic have hampered their efforts to push through a deal.

The most recent speculation has suggested that Barcelona may still sign the frontman, providing that they free up space on their wage bill.

However, according to Marca, club officials remain pessimistic about their chances of agreeing terms with their Inter counterparts.

Unless Arturo Vidal and Luis Suarez both depart the La Liga side, Barcelona will likely have to wait until 2021 to reopen negotiations.

Inter are also attempting to convince Martinez to extend his contract past the end of the 2022-23 campaign.