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Arsenal table bid to sign £43m defender Lisandro Martinez
According to reports, Arsenal have submitted a third improved offer for Lisandro Martinez as we look to beat Manchester United to the signing of the Ajax defender.
Mikel Arteta is hoping to strengthen his defensive options this summer ahead of the new season and Martinez has emerged as a prime target.
After seeing an opening £26m offer rejected by Ajax, Arsenal tabled a second bid worth around £34m. However, that offer must not have satisfied Ajax either as The Sun claims Arsenal have gone back in with an improved third offer.
Argentinean journalist Cesar Luis Merlo – who works for TV show TYC Sports – says Arsenal’s latest bid is worth £34.5m [€40m] up front with a further £4.4m [€5m] in add-ons, meaning the entire deal is worth around £39m.
According to The Sun, Ajax’s asking price is set at £43m so it remains to be seen whether the Dutch giants will accept our new offer but it’s clear Arsenal are pushing hard to get a deal in place.
Man Utd also keen
That’s probably because Manchester United are also being heavily linked with Martinez and Arteta wants a deal done before they formalise their interest in the versatile defender.
The problem is Ajax are under no pressure to sell having already cashed in on Ryan Gravenberch and Sebastien Haller so they may try and create a bidding war between Arsenal and United.
Martinez is only 5ft 9in but he’s excellent in the air and has been hugely impressive at centre-back for Ajax since joining the club in 2019. He won their Player of the Year award last season to help secure back-to-back titles.
The 24-year-old is also comfortable playing at left-back so Arteta sees him as the perfect addition to offer competition for Gabriel and Kieran Tierney in defence.
We’ll have to wait and see how things develop but it would be a second big blow if we were to miss out on Martinez to United. Arsenal were close to signing Raphinha before Chelsea gazumped us so let’s hope it doesn’t happen again with Martinez!
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