Luton Town’s hopes of signing Inter Miami striker Josef Martinez seem to have been dented by the arrival of Lionel Messi to the MLS side as the pair are now friends
appears to have hindered Luton Town’s transfer plans ahead of their first season in the Premier League.
The recently-promoted outfit are aiming to land the signature of Inter Miami forward Josef Martinez, but are thought to be having trouble trying to match the MLS side’s £10million price tag. As a result, Luton are now relying on Martinez to try and force through his own exit to stand any chance of signing him this summer.
Unfortunately for the Hatters, that now looks increasingly unlikely following Messi’s arrival on the East Coast, as Martinez has hit it off with the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner. The duo are believed to have formed a bond in training as the former Barcelona man gets to grips with life in the US.
Martinez has even jokingly referred to Messi as his “new best friend”, after video footage showed the pair chatting away side by side on the bench together ahead of the World Cup winner’s debut. The pair were even brought onto the pitch at the exact same time.
All of this means that Martinez angling for the Inter Miami exit door is not something expected to happen any time soon. All hope is not lost forward Rob Edward’s side however, as there could be another way the Venezuela international becomes available this summer.
There is speculation that David Beckham’s Inter side are keen on partnering Messi with one of his former Barcelona team-mates in Luis Suarez. If the Uruguayan does arrive at the DRV PNK Stadium this window, it would surely place Martinez further down the pecking order and reduce his game time.
With the 30-year-old one of just 13 players in MLS history to have more than 100 goals to his name, the Hatters know signing Martinez could be the difference between Premier League survival or returning straight back down to the Championship.
