MANCHESTER CITY are hot favourites to win the four-way battle for Inter Milan golden boy Lautaro Martinez.

City are ready to pay the £97.5million buy-out clause figure when the coronavirus crisis ends.

1 Man City are leading the race to sign Inter Milan star Lautaro Martinez Credit: Reuters

Chelsea are big fans of the striker — one of the hottest properties in Europe — while Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona are also interested.

But both La Liga clubs and Chelsea are either unable or unwilling to pay the buy-out figure.

Martinez, 22, joined Inter from Racing Club in Argentina in 2018.

The Argentine, who has hit 16 goals for Inter this term, has three years left on his contract.

City boss Pep Guardiola sees Martinez as the long-term replacement for Sergio Aguero.

Inter’s hopes of getting him to agree a new deal were hit by the pandemic.

And City’s chances have been boosted after former Argentina striker Hernan Crespo hailed Martinez as Aguero’s successor.

Crespo told Sky Sports Italy: “Lautaro could well be the new Aguero.

"He’s not as sharp in his dribbling but he is more of a team player than Kun, who too often gets distracted and looks disinterested.

“Lautaro is always participating in the move, so he can play as a long centre-forward or with another striker, even in a trident. I really like his mentality.