The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's (KSA) Public Investment Fund (PIF) are reportedly willing to double Lautaro Martinez's salary to sign him for Newcastle United.

The Lowdown: Deadly finisher

Martinez has developed into one of the deadliest finishers in the game, with a total of 129 goals at club and international level by the age of 25.

He ranks in the 98th percentile for shots taken of all strikers in Europe's top five leagues over the past year, and in the 88th for non-penalty goals, sharing a similar playing style to other high-volume forwards like Robert Lewandowski, Sadio Mane and Gabriel Jesus (FBRef).

The Latest: Newcastle offer

As per Inter Live, the St. James' Park outfit are willing to double Martinez's current salary of €7m (£6.1m) in order to bring him to the North East.

However, both Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea also remain in the race for his signature, and Martinez may even want to stay at Inter.

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The Verdict: What about Isak?

After signing Alexander Isak for a club-record £63m from Real Sociedad in the summer, you would have to question why the Tynesiders would try to sign a player of the profile of Martinez as well, especially given that they also have Callum Wilson and Chris Wood on their books.

Hailed as a 'beast' by Inter team-mate Romelu Lukaku, it is not just goals that the Argentina international brings, but an incredible work-rate too, as he ranks in the 98th percentile for interceptions and 93rd for touches for strikers (FBRef).

However, given that he has a contract until 2026 at Inter, Martinez is likely to cost a lot of money to prize him away from the San Siro, and it may not be the smartest idea for the Magpies to splash the cash in the forward position again given the number of options that they currently have in that position.