Next up on my list is a Spanish starlet that is lighting up La Liga and in the process drawing the attention of Real Madrid (They won’t stop until they have half the world on their wage bill!).
Athletic Bilbao’s Javi Martinez is a young man with a massive future ahead of him, possibly at Old Trafford.
First linked with us back in 2007, news on the midfielder went quiet as he was linked with a host of other clubs including Citeh and Liverpool but recently his name has resurfaced amongst United transfer targets.
Having been at Bilbao for 4 seasons after joining from Osasuna it is said that Martinez is ready to move on and a number of clubs will be monitoring his situation.
Comparisons have been made between Martinez and some great players, Xabi Alonso due to his good range of passing and Steven Gerrard (I say this grudgingly) but Mark Greenwood, editor of Spanish football site This Is Futbol, has given us his own insight into the young Spaniard,
He’s a big, strong player who can hold opposition players off with ease. He’s previously been compared to both Steven Gerrard and Xabi Alonso. Gerrard because he charges forward powerfully and has a rocket of a shot and Alonso because he has a good range of passing which he uses to good effect. He’s not a particularly solid player defensively but he can be a beast going forward and could excel in a team where he’s surrounded by better players than Athletic can offer.
Martinez can be played as a playmaker but is better box to box. Due to his size he is a thorn in any defence’s side when it comes to set pieces as he uses his size and aerial prowess to his advantage. One thing that is obvious is that at such a young age he always looks comfortable on the ball.
It is believed that Bilbao have placed a fee of €30m on Martinez but a significantly smaller offer could tempt the club who only employ Basque players.
nerve herd of him mot going to happen