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According to talkSPORT, Liverpool are in a three way fight with Barcelona and Bayern Munich to sign Sporting Lisbon’s Gelson Martins.
Martins is a 22-year winger who began his career with the Benfica academy, before moving to Lisbon rivals Sporting when he was 14. He made his professional debut three years ago, and has since built an impressive reputation for himself, with Cristiano Ronaldo apparently telling his club, Real Madrid, that they should sign him. He has scored 5 goals in 21 appearances for Sporting so far this season.
Born in Cape Verde, Martins is a full Portuguese international with 16 caps to his name, and is certain to be part of their World Cup squad in Russia later this year.
Liverpool have long been linked with the player, but now it looks they may have to compete against Barcelona and Bayern Munich for his signature. All three clubs, however, will be aware that they need to move fast if they want to capture the player. Martins currently has a £53 million release clause in his contract which expires in the summer. After that date, Sporting can charge what they like for one of their most prized assets.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.