Manchester United are reportedly eyeing Sporting Lisbon winger Gelson Martins in January as the Red Devils are struggling to find players on the flank who could provide quality deliveries and support the strikers.
The 21-year-old who has been dubbed as ‘the next Luis Figo’ has many suitors in the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City and United will have an uphill task in landing the talented attacking midfielder. He will be playing against Real Madrid in the midweek clash of the Champions League and apparently Barcelona and Bayern Munich representatives are also expected to be in attendance.
Manchester United have tried deploying Lingard and Marcus Rashford on the flanks but Mourinho is yet to find the youngsters doing the trick for him. Compared to their rivals who have the likes of Theo Walcott, Alexis Sanchez, Eden Hazard and Victor Moses on the wings, who makes counter-attacks very effective, United lack the pace up front.
Martins has scored two goals this season and registered four assists. He has a shot accuracy of 58%. His eye for the passing and through balls have attracted many European giants. He has an average pass accuracy of 82%.
Along with such attributes, his ability to dribble past opponents with ease and taking controlled longs shots make him one of the promising talents of Portugal. For an attacking midfielder, his defensive contributions are also commendable. He has won 59% of average duels in Liga NOS so far. But most importantly, his game-changing ability is what makes him a unique talent.
Gelson Martins worked his way through the Sporting CP’s youth academy and finally got the chance to prove his mettle recently. He has since established himself in the Portuguese club becoming a regular starter.
Manchester United have acquired some of their best recruits from the Portuguese club, which includes the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani. The English club are pretty sure about the quality of Sporting’s youth academy.
Manchester United have started the season poorly as opposed to the hype they had prior to the season starting. Mourinho hasn’t yet found the perfect setup for his players to click well together.
This had raised an essential question for many players linked with the big clubs. They are unsure if Mourinho is the manager for them. They brought in Henrikh Mkhitaryan from Borussia Dortmund this summer and the winger is yet to start the game since September. Hence, Martins will be double-checking his decision to come to United if gets an offer.
