Arsenal
Arsenal, Liverpool & Man Utd In Battle To Sign £53m Attacker
Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United face stiff competition from Bayern Munich over the signing of £53m Sporting Lisbon attacker Gelson Martins
The January transfer window in closed so it’s time to look at those deals that didn’t get over the line and those being lined-up for the summer. Today, the race for Gelson Martins hots-up…
Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United will face stiff competition from Bayern Munich over the signing of £53m Sporting Lisbon attacker Gelson Martins this summer, according to a report by TeamTalk.
Martins has developed in to one of the most exciting players in Portuguese football since breaking in to the Sporting first team two years ago and has provided 11 goals and 10 assists in all competitions so far this season.
The winger has also become a regular in the Portugal squad with 15 caps to his name so far and his potential has alerted a number of top clubs throughout Europe in recent months.
TeamTalk claim that Arsenal, Liverpool and United are all showing a keen interest in Martins and they could look to launch moves to bring the attacker to the Premier League this summer.
Arsene Wenger is under pressure to revamp his squad following another disappointing campaign and a lack of wide options in attack has become an issue after they failed to sign a replacement for Theo Walcott in January.
Jurgen Klopp is also in the market for attacking reinforcements after not replacing Philippe Coutinho last month while Jose Mourinho is also expected to further strengthen his squad this summer as he looks to build a side capable of competing with Man City.
Martins is seemingly on the trio’s radar, however, they will now face fresh competition as TeamTalk are citing a report from Bild that claims Bayern Munich have joined the race to sign the Sporting star.
The 22-year-old’s agent, Ulisses Santos, confirmed in December that Martins has attracted plenty of interest and did little to dampen speculation that he’ll be on the move this summer.
He’s quoted as saying by TeamTalk:
“Gelson is a player who is wanted by many clubs in the Premier League, La Liga, he is even admired by some Bundesliga sides”
“His future? As a professional, he must be ready for any eventuality, regardless of whether that is to stay in Lisbon or move elsewhere.”
Martins is expected to be named in the Portugal squad for this summers World Cup finals and a positive showing in Russia will only increase the competition for his signature even further.
The young attacker has a release clause worth £53m (€60m) written in to his contract but the report says Sporting are keen to tie him down to a fresh deal that will see that figure rise to £89m.
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Martins is predominantly a right winger but can play anywhere across the attacking midfield position so he’d be a very useful player for Arsenal, Liverpool or United if any of the English trio were able to win the race for his signature.
