If you’re even moderately keen on transfer rumours or have been tracking the list of prodigious talents around Europe, you must have heard of a winger emerging from the ranks of Sporting, Gelson Martins. From the famed academy that has introduced the football world to the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Luis Figo and Nani arrives another wing wizard attracting clubs all across Europe such as Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona and AC Milan.
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Also read: Real Madrid Transfer Rumour: Zinedine Zidane eyes Sporting Lisbon’s Gelson Martin
Here are five things you should know about the 21-year-old winger:
#1 Background
Gelson Martins was born and brought up in Praia, the capital city of the island nation Cape Verde. The tricky winger’s path to football took a fortunate turn at the age of eight when the Martins’ decided to set up their new family base in Lisbon, Portugal.
His career began at an amateur club called Club Football Benfica, unaffiliated to its similarly named Portuguese powerhouse, Benfica before transferring to his present club, Sporting in 2010.
#2 Youth career
Gelson has been a vital part of the Portuguese national youth teams as well, with multiple appearances in all of the age categories from the age of 18. His involvement in the 2014 UEFA European U19 Championship and the U20 World Cup was significant, as he was one of the pivotal players in the former competition guiding his country to the runners-up spot along with scoring a candidate for the best goal of the tournament.
In the latter competition, his prominence shone as he scored twice including a famous ‘trivela’ goal against the hosts, New Zealand and followed it up with a Man of the Match-worthy performance in their quarter-final loss to Brazil.
Promoted to the Sporting B squad for the 2014-2015 season, the winger debuted as a substitute on 24th August 2014 against S.C Olhanense. He established himself in the team with 40 appearances and six goals to his name, the first of which came in a 3-1 win against Vitoria de Guimaraes B on 21st December. His meteoric rise led him to the first team squad within a year.
#3 Style of Play
Most of the wingers emerging as serious talents in Portugal have obvious links with Cristiano Ronaldo to contend with. But in the case of Martins, he is compared to former Manchester United winger, Luis Nani due to the strikingly similar style of play.
Featuring a frame of 173 cms, Gelson is customarily a right winger but can operate on the opposite flank as well as in central midfield and right back, a position he took on during his developing years. Like Nani, his best attributes are his pace, being a skilful dribbler, his ability to deliver the right cross and the knack of making impressive runs inside the box.
On the flip side, unlike the current Valencia star, he is a relatively weak player who can be knocked off the ball pretty easily. The similarities with Nani do not conclude at their style of play, they share the same background roots. Like Martins, Nani is also originally from Cape Verde.
Now a Sporting first team regular, although he fits the team’s 4-4-2 tactical formation effectively, his manager has demanded the winger to increase his defensive commitment to his game, while also becoming a team player rather than an individual on the field.
#4 Contractual details
In a show of confidence in his abilities, Sporting renewed his contract at the time of his integration into the Sporting B team with a six-year contract and a release clause estimated to be £60 million. His earnings per week are minimal, with just £2,000 per week quoted as his salary. With the contract lasting till 2021, Sporting are in no urgency to let go of their prized asset and will demand a significant transfer fee, upwards of £40 million from any potential suitor.
If one of the interested clubs like Manchester United and Real Madrid do step in for his services, a deal comparable to the likes of Anthony Martial’s transfer to United and Renato Sanches’ transfer to Bayern Munich should be expected with a variety of bonus-related clauses.
A minor hiccup for Sporting could be the loss of leverage in negotiations with these clubs, as it has been rumoured that Martins is disappointed with the new contract proposed by the club for just £4,000 per week.
#5 Barcelona’s missed opportunity
Barcelona can be credited with the most optimistic and eventually the best piece of youth signing in the form of Lionel Messi. In desperate times, the Barcelona official charged with the Messi case got the signature of the Argentinian and his family on a napkin. But sometimes, clubs let slip such opportunities. One such case is associated with the transfer dealings between Sporting and Barcelona for the transfer of Jeffren Suarez to the Portuguese club in 2012.
The transfer of Suarez brought on a liability for Sporting of roughly €1 million. As Sporting were in a financial mess, Barcelona was offered the chance to acquire Sporting’s youth players as part of the deal.
With the likes of Martins and Joao Mario in the youth set up, Barcelona instead chose to acquire Edgar Le and Agostinho Ca. Mario has since been sold for €40 million and Martins will attract a similar price at the least. With the international director of sports at Barcelona, Ariedo Braida recently confirming their interest in Gelson Martins, Barcelona indeed missed on a fabulous opportunity four years ago.
