Quantcast

Arsenal in pole to sign Lisandro Martinez after £35m offer

By on June 28, 2022

According to talkSPORT, Arsenal are in pole position to sign Lisandro Martinez after submitting an improved £35m offer for the Ajax defender.

Mikel Arteta is seemingly in the market for another versatile option at the back and The Athletic says Martinez has been identified as the bosses main transfer target.

After seeing an opening offer rejected, talkSPORT claims that Arsenal have tested Ajax’s resolve with an improved £35m offer. The Eredivise champions haven’t responded to the latest proposal and are mulling it over.

The report suggests that Arsenal are now firmly in pole position ahead of Manchester United in the race to sign Martinez and The Athletic says the player is keen to secure a move to North London this summer.

New United boss Erik ten Hag wants to be reunited with Martinez having worked with him at Ajax but as it stands, it’s Arsenal who’ve tabled a formal offer and the player is open to playing under Arteta at the Emirates.

The 24-year-old has racked up over 100 appearances for Ajax to help them win back-to-back league titles and he’s also a regular with the Argentina national team.

Versatile

Despite being just 5ft 9in, Martinez is predominantly a central defender and is known for his superb leap so he’s actually very good in the air. He’s also comfortable playing at left-back and in central midfield so his versatility would be a very useful asset.

Arteta sees Martinez as competition for Gabriel on the left side of central defence while he’d also provide top class cover for Kieran Tierney at left-back. We all know Tierney’s injury problems so it would be comforting to have a solid back-up as Nuno Tavares was a liability at times last season.

Should Arsenal sign Martinez, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Tavares head out on loan or possibly even on a permanent basis if an attractive offer arrives this summer.

We’ll have to wait and see whether Ajax accept Arsenal’s latest offer but it looks like Arteta is pushing to sign the South American and he could become our fifth signing of the summer. Matt Turner, Marquinhos and Fabio Vieira have already been snapped up while Gabriel Jesus is set to sign from Man City after undergoing his medical today.

2 Comments