Premier League giants Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly monitoring Sporting Lisbon winger Gelson Martins.
Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur are showing interest in making a summer move for Sporting CP’s Portuguese winger Gelson Martins, as per a report from Portuguese outlet A Bola (h/t Jan Hagen).
The report claims that both the London clubs had scouts present in the audience in the semifinals of the Taca de Portugal, in which Sporting eliminated rivals Porto 5-4 on penalties, with Martins being named as the Man of the Match. Recently crowned Premier League champions Manchester City too had representatives watching the winger along with German giants Borussia Dortmund.
The 22-year old Martins joined the Sporting youth ranks in 2011, after spending his formative years with Benfica. Having made his debut in 2015, the winger is enjoying a fine campaign for the Portuguese outfit as they sit fourth in the Primeira Liga and have advanced to the finals of the cup competition. So far in the 2017/18 campaign, Martins has scored 13 goals and assisted 12 more in 47 appearances across all competitions.
Primarily a right-sided winger, Martins is known for his blistering pace and the ability to dribble past defenders at speed. The Portuguese international also possesses the vision needed to create chances for his teammates in the attacking third and is a big goal threat by himself as well.
Chelsea have endured a difficult season after their title-winning 2016/17 campaign. And with their UEFA Champions League qualification chances hanging in the balance, the rumour mills are abuzz with the news of wing-wizard Eden Hazard’s possible departure at the end of the season, with Real Madrid waiting to pounce.
Brazilian winger Willian’s future too is shrouded by doubt with interest from Manchester United. And with Pedro under-performing this season, even if both Hazard and Willian end up staying at the Stamford Bridge, a new wide player will very much be a welcome addition to the squad.
Tottenham, on the other hand, have been on the lookout for an out and out winger for a couple of years now but haven’t been able to address the issue till date.
Both Christian Eriksen and Heung-Min Son are great options but don’t provide the natural width and directness out on the flanks, while January signing Lucas Moura has failed to hit the ground running. And Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino is understood to be keen on adding more quality to his squad as he looks to turn this Spurs side into a title-winning outfit.
Capped 16 times by the Portuguese national team, Martins has shown his pedigree both at the club and the international level and is destined for bigger things. And a big move away could very well be on the cards this summer, with the likes of Chelsea and Spurs watching the player, while he has previously been linked with Liverpool as well.
The 22-year old has a contract with Sporting that runs till the summer of 2022, which could see them demand a huge sum of money for the player. And a strong FIFA World Cup campaign in Russia in the summer, could see Martins’ stock rise further.
