Aston Villa Opinion: Lions should beat off competition for Spanish starlet Andres Martin
According to claims from Spanish website Cordopolis, as cited by Birmingham Live, Aston Villa have been credited with an interest in Cordoba CF starlet Andres Martin.
The 19-year-old prodigy registered an impressive 6 goals and 4 assists in 29 appearances for Cordoba in the Segunda Division, the second-tier of Spanish football, as the club finished 21st in the standings and suffered relegation to the third-tier.
However, Martin’s heroics in his impressive breakthrough season has not gone unnoticed, with the Birmingham Live claiming that Villa are expected to face stiff competition from the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Rayo Vallecano, Sevilla, as well as Bundesliga outfit Eintracht Frankfurt in their pursuit of the talented 19-year-old winger.
Birmingham Live understands that Madrid and Barcelona are prepared to offer the teenager a chance to continue his development in their youth setup, although Sevilla are the only club to have come up with a formal offer for the 19-year-old.
Sevilla have tabled a €2 million bid for Martin but Cordoba CF are holding out for at least €3 million to part ways with their prized asset following his impressive breakthrough season. However, it is understood that they are under pressure to balance the books after getting relegated and Martin is likely to end up in a bigger club this summer.
Meanwhile, Aston Villa have made the headlines with the club-record £22 million signing of Brazilian centre-forward Wesley Moraes from Belgian outfit Genk. Prior to the completion of the marquee signing, Villa set the ball rolling in the transfer window with deals for Jota, Kortney Hause and Anwar El Ghazi earlier in the summer.
Villa continue to be linked with an array of players in England and abroad, with Southampton’s Matt Targett, Brighton’s Lewis Dunk, Tyrone Mings, Leeds United ace Kalvin Phillips and Stoke City’s Jack Butland all reportedly on Dean Smith’s wishlist for the summer (h/t Birmingham Mail).
The Lions have already made a strong statement of intent with the signing of Moraes and they are apparently looking at a few more arrivals, as Smith tries to ensure that he has all his bases covered heading into the Premier League.
To put things into perspective, Aston Villa’s links with Cordoba’s breakout star Andres Martin is unlikely to create too much noise amongst the fans at Villa Park. However, the Lions should also consider swooping for some young and promising starlets in the market to add more competition to their youth ranks and the 19-year-old certainly fits the bill.
In all probability, Andres Martin would go into the development squad at Villa Park even if a move does materialize this summer. Having spent three seasons in the second-tier, Villa are unlikely to play gambles by fielding little-known youngsters in the Premier League, but Martin might as well get a chance to impress later in the campaign.
The Lions currently lack adequate depth in their wide options following the release of veteran Albert Adomah, with El Ghazi and 20-year-old youngster Andre Green being the only senior options out wide. Martin, who is predominantly a left-footed player, likes to operate on the left but he is more than capable of playing on the right, as well as up front as a centre-forward.
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Andres Martin’s talent and potential were there for everybody to witness in his debut season in the Spanish second-tier and Villa have every reason to look at him as a player for the future.
Bringing in a few promising youngsters would increase competition for places in the youth ranks, and that said, they should look to fend off interest from some of the top Spanish clubs in their pursuit of the highly-rated 19-year-old.
