Man Utd eyeing up Bilbao star
Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson is preparing move for Athletic Bilbao’s Javi Martinez as he considers radically overhauling his central midfield options in the summer.
Ferguson is desperate to bring in fresh blood to strengthen up the Old Trafford engine room and the Spain international has emerged as a serious target after becoming a key player for Bilbao over the last few years. The Red Devil’s chief is desperate to add a quality defensive midfielder to his squad next season and has already dispatched his brother Martin Ferguson to run the rule over the 23-year-old.
Martinez has now jumped to the top of Ferguson’s summer transfer hit list following a glowing recommendation from United’s chief European scout. The 70-year-old is desperate to replace Darren Fletcher after the Scotland captain was ruled out for the foreseeable future with a bowel condition. Despite coaxing Paul Scholes out of retirement to fill in for rest of the current campaign Ferguson knows he can’t rely on the 37-year-old in the long-term.
It’s now being reported that the Champions are weighing up a move for Martinez who has been a regular at the San Mames since joining the club as a 17-year-old in 2006. He’s gone on to make 185 appearances for Los Leones in that time forging a reputation as a dynamic box-to-box midfielder.
Bilbao have fended off interest from Liverpool and La Liga rivals Real Madrid in the past but may decide to cash in on their prized asset should United come calling with a bid in the region of £25 million
Martinez has won seven caps for his country and was part of the Spain squad that triumphed at the 2010 World Cup also captaining La Roja’s Under-21 side to European Championship glory in Denmark last summer.
