Lautaro Martinez is one of the top prospects in South American football.
Kicker report that Borussia Dortmund have joined the long list of suitors for Martinez’s signature. The Westphalian side are believed to be heavily interested in the Argentine striker because they see him as a proper replacement for Aubameyang. A fee of around 32 million euros should be enough to secure his signature.
However, there is a lot of competition for his signature, with Inter currently favourites. The struggles of Gabriel Barbosa in his time there may work against them, though due to the similarities in age and experience.
Michy Batshuayi has performed well in his loan spell at Borussia Dortmund, but the club believes that Martinez would be a better fit. The Argentine would be a lot more heavily involved in their attacking play. In contrast, Batshuayi’s involvement is usually confined to the penalty box. Although he has added a lethal edge to their play with eight goals in eleven games. The Belgian was unable to stop them getting eliminated by Red Bull Salzburg in the Europa League, though.
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Martinez is remarkably talented for his age. He boasts a wealth of abilities which is rare for somebody so young. His range of talents includes finishing, dribbling, key passes and aerial ability. He is a well-rounded striker with the potential to be a real talent, which makes him an exciting proposition for so many teams. In the Superliga Argentina, he has 10 goals and three assists in 14 games for Racing Club this season.
How would his move affect Borussia Dortmund?
The switch from South American to European football is a big transition due to the increase in quality on a collective level. Therefore, it would be unlikely for Martinez to have an instant impact. However, his range of talents would add some fluidity and innovation to Dortmund’s final third play. In the long-term, he has the potential to add another dimension to their attacking prowess.
His impact would also be highly dependent on who they bring in as manager next season. Peter Stoger has shown that the top-level is a step above for him. Borussia Dortmund need someone like Thomas Tuchel, who had some novel ideas on how to get the best out of them in an attacking sense.
Martinez’s flexibility means that he can be used in a variety of roles. He could be used as a ‘false 9’ in a 4-3-3 formation. This would work well with Mario Gotze, as the midfield play-maker, and the range of talented wide players they have such as Jadon Sancho and Christian Pulisic.
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Another potential setup is playing him just behind Alexander Isak as a second striker in a 4-4-1-1. This would give him the freedom to play off the talented Swedish striker; he would also act as the link between midfield and attack in the transition and attacking phases. In this regard, he is comparable to fellow Argentine Paulo Dybala who plays in a similar role for Juventus.