Manchester United have reportedly lost the lead in the race for Sporting’s 21 year old Gelson Martins.
According to reports from A Bola, it’s now Barcelona who are closer to get the player, even though José Mourinho’s side are still in the chase.
Truth is that A Bola doesn’t seem to have any convincing arguments why Barcelona or United could be in front of the other. All they’re reporting today is that the Catalan club have watched the winger during the international break.
This would be the most recent scouting, and maybe that’s why Barça are said to be on the lead now. Last week, it was Manchester United who were said to be in that position, because the club have scouted the player over ten times this season.
It’s pretty clear that no contacts or offers have been made yet, as the clubs are apparently only watching to confirm if Martins is worth all that money.
He currently has a €60m release clause in a contract which runs until 2021, but the new deal that has been negotiated should raise the figures to €80m.
The scary price is probably what’s stopping clubs from even asking how much Sporting want for him. The Portuguese club will surely push for close to the release clause, and right now Gelson Martins hasn’t shown enough to be in that kind of price bracket.
