Inter Miami finalizing deal for prolific Atlanta United forward Josef Martinez

The question making most headlines entering the 2023 Inter Miami season is whether Lionel Messi will join the club during the summer. The more pressing question is how to compensate for the team-leading 16 goals scored by Gonzalo Higuain last year before his retirement.

It seems club management has found a promising solution.

According to multiple team sources, a deal is being finalized to acquire prolific Atlanta United forward Josef Martinez, the 29-year-old Venezuelan who was MLS MVP in 2018 and broke several league scoring records.

He scored 77 goals in his first three seasons, missed the 2020 season with a torn ACL, then scored 21 goals the past two seasons.

Martinez, the league’s 12th-highest paid player at $4.1 million last season, has one year left on his contract. The Athletic reported that Atlanta will use an offseason buyout to pay a portion of Martinez’s remaining salary, freeing him up to move to Miami.

A source said Inter Miami would then sign him and pick up the rest of his salary — with help from Targeted Allocation Money, an MLS financial mechanism that gives teams some flexibility within the league’s rigid roster rules.

Miami would not have to use one of its three designated player slots for Martinez as his salary would be under the $1.65 million DP ceiling.

Martinez is house hunting in South Florida and a deal could be announced by the end of the week, according to a team source. He would join an attack that includes Leo Campana, Ariel Lassiter, Robert Taylor, Emerson Rodriguez, Bryce Duke, and Robbie Robinson.

Martinez scored 98 goals over 134 games and in 2018 became the most decorated single-season player in MLS history, winning league MVP, All-Star Game MVP, Golden Boot and MLS Cup Final MVP.

Asked this week about the possibility of adding Martinez to his roster, Inter Miami coach Phil Neville said: “I like him. He’s always scored goals against us…There are certain players that make a real impression from the pitch level, and Josef is one. He’s a machine, hungry, scores goals and doesn’t need many chances.”

Martinez holds the MLS record for career hat tricks with six in his first 44 games, the record for cumulative goals in regular and post season with 35 and held the record for goals in a single season (31 in 2018) until Carlos Vela broke it a year later with 34.

Although Martinez was a fan favorite in Atlanta, he has had run-ins with bosses. He was suspended for a week last season after a shouting match with coach Gonzalo Pineda, who said the suspension was for several incidents of behavior detrimental to the team.

Martinez also had a public spat with former Venezuela manager Rafael Dudamel, which led to him quitting the team for a while; and he butt heads with former Atlanta coach Gabriel Heinze, who made Martinez train on his own during a stretch of the 2021 season.

Neville is not worried about Martinez’s temperamental reputation, saying he and his players would integrate him into the team culture.

“What I always say to people who challenge me on that is ‘That person can do X, Y, Z. Leave the management of that player to me. That is my job. That is what I am paid to do,’’’ Neville said. “I think what we have seen over the last two years is that we have had to manage a lot of big personalities. I think Gonzalo [Higuain] is a prime example of getting the best out of someone that probably was not going right and then finished on such a high note. I back my ability to deal with any kind of player.”

Meanwhile, Inter Miami continued to build its 2023 roster with the signing of Argentine left back Franco Negri, who played for Argentine team Godoy Cruz. The club announced Wednesday that it signed him to a two-year contract with an option for the 2025 season.

“We are thrilled to strengthen our squad with an experienced and versatile player like Negri and are excited to see him represent Inter Miami as we work towards a successful season in 2023,” said Inter Miami chief soccer officer Chris Henderson.

Negri, 27, has spent his entire career in Argentina, playing 132 games, including 45 in the first division.

“I feel very excited and motivated by this beautiful opportunity that fútbol and Inter Miami have afforded me,” Negri said in a press release. “It’s a very organized club and excellent in all aspects, one which any player would like to play for. My goal is to give everything for the team in every training session and every match, trying to achieve as many of the team’s goals as possible and represent the Club the best way possible on and off the pitch.”

Negri’s career has included stints with San Lorenzo, Quilmes, Independiente Rivadavia, Belgrano, Newell’s Old Boys, and Godoy Cruz, where he played 32 games last season.

Inter Miami opened training camp this week, plays a home exhibition Jan. 21 against Brazilian club Vasco da Gama, and kicks off the MLS season Feb. 25 at home against CF Montreal. Tickets are available at intermiamicf.com