Liverpool’s deal for Samuel Martínez is not yet a done thing, with neither a work permit nor medical completed as yet.
Journalist Patrick Berger reports on the 17-year-old today amid reports that he will join Liverpool this summer.
Liverpool paperwork being worked on
He reports that Samuel Martínez’s move to Liverpool is a ‘transfer setback’ for Borussia Dortmund. The Bundesliga side, famed for developing young talent, were also keen on the youngster.
They, though, couldn’t meet the financial requirements for Nacional. Liverpool are paying the Colombian side $1m for the midfielder. That’s pushed them to the front of the queue,
Reports in England have made it clear that the deal is practically done. But Berger reports caution on that front for now.
According to him, Martínez still needs to undergo a medical examination at Anfield. And before he can do that, he’ll need to obtain the necessary visa documents beforehand as well.
He does state that the ‘paperwork is being exchanged’ and is in the final stages, though. That would suggest Liverpool are confident that both will be sorted. Berger does admit while the deal isn’t finalised, it’s ‘highly likely to be’.
Work permit rules
Visa and work permit rules are not easy to navigate post Brexit, though. To automatically qualify for a GBE (Governing Body Endorsement), a player must score 15 points across a strict assessment.
Points are awarded on the percentage of minutes played for the senior national team in the previous 12-24 months, FIFA rankings and club quality. The latter is the tier and quality of the league the player is arriving from.
Clubs cannot sign players under 18 from abroad, so the FA has the Elite Significant Contribution (ESC) instead. This is for players who do not meet the GBE thresholds. Samuel Martínez would fit in that category.
Under the ESC, Premier League and Championship clubs are allotted up to four ESC player slots per season. The likelihood is that Martínez would fall into that, unless there is a different plan in place at Liverpool for him.
Martínez muss allerdings noch den Medizincheck in UK machen und zuvor die nötigen Visa Unterlagen kriegen. Papiere werden ausgetauscht und sind in den finalen Zügen. Noch kein kompletter Done Deal. Wird aber mit großer Wahrscheinlichkeit so kommen … w/ @Plettigoal @SkySportDE
— Patrick Berger (@berger_pj) May 22, 2026
