It seems that the recent reports coming from The Mirror are true, at least as far as Record are concerned: Tottenham Hotspur are interested in the Sporting winger Gelson Martins.
The Portuguese newspaper now confirms the claims, saying that after the reports from England, they were able to check that the interest is real.
According to the Lisbon outlet, the Spurs have been monitoring Gelson for a year now, and are currently analysing if the ‘operation’ is possible for the summer market.
Tottenham have made ‘informal’ contacts in order to know about the player’s price, and now wonder if they will go for him or not.
What Record says is that Gelson shouldn’t be cheap. Sporting are currently relying on his €60m release clause, and this price can only grow in the next few months, as the clause expires during the World Cup.
Another option Sporting have to protect him is to activate another clause on his contract which says his release clause goes to €100m and the club pays the player a €1.5m bonus. This wildcard can be used at any time.
Tottenham are said to be aware of all of this. So in case Spurs really go for Gelson in the summer, they know what they’re dealing with.
A week ago, Portuguese newspaper A Bola reported Tottenham had been watching Gelson, which may be the primer for all of this. Interestingly, Spurs watched a Sporting v Benfica match in January, which Gelson played well in.
Regardless of what they know of any Tottenham interest, it would be no surprise if Sporting were happy to confirm such exists, if only to help grow the perceived value of their player.
