Man Utd ready to snatch Martinez and Tielemans from Arsenal
Cameron Smith
- 1 Jul 2022 14:45 BST
- 3 min read
Manchester United are preparing to hijack Arsenal's attempts to sign both Lisandro Martinez and Youri Tielemans this summer.
Martinez, 24, and Tielemans, 25, are both available for purchase this summer, with Ajax and Leicester willing to listen to offers.
In Martinez's case, Arsenal have submitted three separate bids to acquire him, but have seen the first two rejected by the Amsterdam club. The Argentinian joined Ajax from Defensa y Justicia in July 2019 and has enjoyed three fruitful years in the Netherlands.
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However, he could join Erik ten Hag in leaving the club this summer, and could actually join Ten Hag at Manchester United. While Arsenal have made their interest known to Ajax and the player, and have begun talks, Man Utd are acutely aware of the Gunners' liking of Martinez, and have responded themselves.
According to GOAL, Man Utd have increased their interest in Martinez and have begun actively pursuing a deal for the versatile defender. Martinez, who can play centre-back, left-back or even in midfield, is admired by Ten Hag, who is keen to add defensive reinforcements to his squad.
Tyrell Malacia is expected to arrive from Feyenoord to provide competition for Luke Shaw, while Martinez is the club's current first-choice target for centre-back upgrades. AS Monaco's Benoit Badiashile has also been linked.
Arsenal's third bid of €35 million, plus add-ons, is believed to have jerked Man Utd into action, with the Red Devils aware they could soon lose out on a top target due to the attention placed on signing Frenkie de Jong.
Man Utd have now held positive talks with Martinez and are confident of striking an agreement with Ajax and the player. Similar to the situation with Malacia, Man Utd have asked to be updated about Martinez's status. After learning of Lyon's accepted bid for Malacia, the Red Devils acted and bettered the Ligue 1 side's deal. It's believed they may do a similar thing with Martinez and Arsenal.
Tielemans to Man Utd?
In regards to Tielemans, the Leicester man has just one year left on his contract and the Foxes are keen to sell in order to recoup some of the €47m they paid for him back in 2019.
Arsenal were expected to complete a deal for the Belgian international as they began talks with his representatives back in January. However, the move appears to have fallen through, which has placed Man Utd on 'high alter' according to TalkSport.
The report details that Ten Hag is an admirer of Tielemans, and he could be signed this summer as Man Utd look to rejig their midfield following the exits of Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard.
