This article is part of Football FanCast's Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news...
According to Italian outlet Calcio Mercato, Manchester City are "evaluating" Inter forward Lautaro Martinez as a potential option to eventually replace Sergio Aguero.
What's the word?
City star Aguero has been an incredible servant for the Etihad side since joining from La Liga giants Atletico Madrid, and has already racked up a mammoth 239 goals in just 347 appearances across all competitions for the club.
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The 31-year-old has started off the current campaign on fire too, notching eight Premier League goals in as many games for Pep Guardiola's men. Calcio Mercato now claim that with the Argentine turning 32 next summer, the Citizens are "evaluating" Inter's Martinez as a potential successor to their superstar forward.
The report adds trying to lure the Nerazzurri man away from Italy will be difficult, due to a hefty release clause in his contract.
The heir to the throne
Make no mistake about it, whilst Aguero appears to be defying his age with consistently supreme performances, City will eventually have to commit to turning away from their Argentinian talisman. Replacing the sheer volume of goals will undoubtedly be difficult, but Martinez has proven in his fledgling career that he has other facets to his game too.
As per Whoscored, the 22-year-old has registered two goals and an assist in the early stages of Serie A this season, but his under-lying numbers give cause for optimism for Guardiola. The Spaniard previously had a reported discussion with Aguero over his work-rate and desire to press the ball, but that does not appear to be a problem for Martinez.
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The South American forward averages 0.7 tackles per game in the Italian top-flight, whilst in the Copa America earlier this summer, he committed two fouls per match in four appearances - whilst fouls are generally seen as a negative thing, it really showed Martinez's willingness to do the dirty work up front.
His massive potential saw former Chelsea striker Hernan Crespo remark: "In my opinion he is the present of Inter. My friend Juan Sebastian Veron spoke very well of him, he is someone who is a footballer and he rarely has wrong judgment. Again Seba was right: Lautaro is a potential champion."
After all of City's dominance domestically this decade, Martinez's description as a "potential champion" makes him the perfect fit to join the Etihad side and fill Aguero's boots.