Fabio Capello has advised Lautaro Martinez to stay at Inter Milan instead of moving to Spanish giants Barcelona this summer.
The Argentine striker has been one of the stand-out forwards in Serie A, where he has developed a strong partnership with Romelu Lukaku which has helped steer Inter into a three-way title race along with Juventus and Lazio.
The 22-year-old has caught the attention of Quique Setien's side with 16 goals in 31 appearances this campaign and the Blaugrana have been impressed with the striker's progression since his arrival at the Italian club in 2018.
Inter have reportedly dropped their asking price for Martinez to €90m (£78.5m), and Barcelona see the forward as an ideal long-term replacement for 33-year-old Luis Suarez.
However, former England manager Capello believes Martinez would be best staying put in Milan, where he would start more matches.
"If I were him, I would stay at Inter, because at Barca he would be a substitute," the Italian told Gazzetta dello Sport.
Barcelona already have a wealth of attacking options at their disposal for the start of next season including Suarez, Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele and Martin Braithwaite, while Philippe Coutinho is set to rejoin when his Bayern Munich loan spell ends.
Oliver Thomas
