Tottenham Hotspur's chances of sealing a move for Lautaro Martinez this month seem rather slim after a major update emerged that won't please many Spurs supporters...

What's the word?

Over the weekend, reports surfaced suggesting that the North London outfit had agreed a £60m fee for the Inter Milan striker, with Spurs targeting him as a potential partner for Harry Kane, rather than a replacement.

However, according to Fabrizio Romano, this was before they sold Romelu Lukaku to Chelsea, so it seems unlikely that they would offload both of their first-choice forwards in the same window.

Speaking on Sky Sports News (as relayed by Football Daily), the renowned Italian transfer expert said:

"The interest is genuine because it's true that Tottenham want Lautaro Martinez. They've been in talks with his agent, with Inter about Lautaro Martinez, so it's true that there is a strong interest from Tottenham but it's something that they wanted to do before Inter sold Romelu Lukaku to Chelsea.

"It was about last week, that's why the situation now is not easy.

"Inter state that they want to keep Lautaro Martinez at the club. They are convinced that Lautaro will be staying because they sold Lukaku, and they sold Achraf Hakimi to Paris Saint-Germain, so they don't need money right now. And that's why I think that this deal with Tottenham will be complicated."

Bad news

This development will come as a blow to many around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Nuno Santo is thought to be eager to deploy a two-man attack system, in which another frontman is needed to partner Kane. But they have missed out on Danny Ings, who has joined Aston Villa, and now appear to have been ruled out of the Martinez race.

It means that the Portuguese cannot play the formation he desires just yet as the England international is his only senior striker - and he's only just returned from holiday.

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Furthermore, Romano's claim is sure to upset much of the Lilywhites faithful who were desperate to see the Argentina talisman join this month.

When The Times' Gary Jacob first revealed their interest over the weekend, many supporters erupted at the news - some pondered whether it was a dream, whilst others lauded sporting director Fabio Paratici.

"Would love this to be true," said one fan, whilst another added: "If this is true Paratici needs a statue built outside the stadium," as relayed by This is Futbol.

Martinez provided 19 goals and 11 assists as the Italian giants ended their decade-long Serie A hoodoo last season, so it's no wonder there were plenty of Spurs supporters keen to see him signed.

They'll now be fuming at this latest claim as it looks like their club acted too late.

AND in other news, Bye-bye Kane: £40.5m-rated "nightmare" is "on Tottenham's radar", Nuno would love him...