Arsenal
Arsenal Could Sign £53m Star For Free, Player Terminates Contract After £26m Rejected
Arsenal could sign Gelson Martins for free as the winger is trying to terminate his contract after Sporting Lisbon rejected a second £26m bid
The summer transfer window is open and managers are working hard on their transfer targets so we’ll bring you all the latest gossip from around the globe. Today, some big news on Gelson Martins…
Arsenal could sign Gelson Martins for nothing as the winger has submitted a request to terminate his contract after Sporting Lisbon rejected a second £26m bid from the Gunners, according to Portuguese outlet O Jogo.
Martins has been with Sporting his entire career having progressed through their youth ranks and he’s developed in to one of the most exciting young attackers in Portuguese football in recent years. The 23-year-old enjoyed an excellent campaign last season having provided 13 goals and 13 assists in all competitions to earn a place in the Portugal squad ahead of this summers World Cup finals.
That form has led to interest from Arsenal with the Metro reporting that we tabled a second offer worth £26m for Martins’ signature after Unai Emery identified him as a prime summer transfer target.
The newspaper says Arsenal low-balled Sporting as Martins has been threatening to terminate his contract if they didn’t negotiate his sale but the Portuguese club rejected our offer and insisted we pay his £53m release clause in full.
It seems this has forced the attacker in to action as O’Jogo claim Martins has now submitted a formal request to terminate his contract citing ‘just cause’ after Sporting allowed the squad to be attacked by angry fans at their training base last month after they missed out on Champions League qualification.
The Portuguese outlet says Martins, Bruno Fernandes and William Carvalho have all moved to cancel their contracts after goalkeeper Rui Patricio did likewise earlier this month.
The situation is set to go to the Portuguese courts and if the case goes in the players favour, as expected, then Arsenal could snap Martins up for nothing – although any potential deal may be delayed until court proceedings are complete.
READ MORE –> Arsenal agree to meet £22m release clause
It’s a fascinating situation and it’s going to be interesting to see how things progress from here but obviously Martins would be a superb signing if we could manage to land him for free this summer.
