Manchester United Preparing €32m Swoop For Liverpool Target

Manchester United are ready to spend €32m on highly rated Athletic Bilbao midfielder Javi Martinez, according to reports in Spain.

Martinez has attracted interest from all over Europe after becoming an integral part of the team during his 5 years at Bilbao and his form has lead to 7 international caps with World and European Champions Spain.

Liverpool and Man Utd have both been linked with the 23-year-old but Bilbao have always maintained the player is not for sale. However, it became apparent that Martinez has a buy-out clause of €32m in his contract and reports in Spain suggest United are willing to trigger the clause in order to land their man.

Martinez made his name as a defensive midfielder but has been used as a centre back this season, which is not a surprise given he stands at 6ft 3″, and it’s this versatility that has attracted Sir Alex Ferguson.